Iridescent Ice
by Spat915
Summary: Since before she could remember, Weiss Schnee has never had a single friend. Now at Beacon Academy, she finds herself surrounded by them. But are they enough to crack that shell of diamond she's been hiding in her whole life, or will she lose what she's never dared to hope for? Rated T for mature themes or implications that may come up. May change to M eventually, maybe not.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Welcome to a new story I've been writing in my spare time. I don't know where it's going or how long I'll be writing it. I also have no schedule for updates so follow to get the emails. I'll generally post a handful of chapters at a time since I'm writing each chapter as a single scene.**

**As always, I do not own RWBY or any characters, etc. associated with it.**

**And as always, please enjoy and thank you for reading.**

* * *

The door slammed open against the wall, the shattering of the drywall as the handle embedded itself was hidden behind a loud crunch and splashing that drew attention to the shattered glass in the blond girl's hand. There were three girls in the room, the blond was the only one not sitting on a bed since she seemed to have been getting a glass of juice. The furious girl in the doorway took in the room at a glance before walking in toward her target.

Rose petals fell to the floor as the girl with brown hair with the tips dyed red zoomed behind the blond, cowering.

"Yang, save me!" She squeeled in a terribly high pitched voice that drove a spike straight through the angry girl's skull.

The angry girl advanced into the room steadily, approaching the blond. She made a move to dodge passed the towering girl just to have her shoulders caught in the blond's strong hands.

"Whoa. Calm down, Weiss." She spoke calmly, her voice hiding the threat her order implied.

"Yang, move out of my way." Weiss responded, her voice cold as her wintery blue eyes shimered with the fire of her rage.

"Sorry, can't." Yang replied, pushing her teammate back a step and releasing her.

Weiss glanced down at her shoulder, a look of disgust crossing her face at the red staining her otherwise white outfit. "You disgusting brute! You know what? Never mind. Rose, stop hiding. Now!"

The brown haired girl peeked her head out from behind her sister slowly, obviously afraid of the furious girl in front of her sister.

"You are a complete ignoramus!" Weiss began as Yang stepped out from the middle of the two, sensing the danger had mostly passed. "A hyperactive, insensitive, antisocial, idiotic, immature-"

"Are you going anywhere with this?" The black haired girl curled up on her bed reading looked over her book wearing a look of annoyance. "If not, shut up. I'm reading."

Weiss stopped her rant, taking deep breaths as she calmed herself down. After a few minutes, she turned to walk out of the room, pausing at the door for a second. "Ruby, if you don't want my wrath later, you'll do the intelligent thing and follow me now."

Ruby nodded waving a quick goodbye to her sister before following Weiss out of the room. Yang walked over to pull the door out of the wall so the hydraulics would pull it shut again.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" The black haired girl asked as the blond jumped up onto her top bunk.

"They'll end up taking a piece out of each other before feeling bad about it and being overly nice to each other for the next couple days." Yang spoke from her previous experiences with people like Weiss. "Though I'll bet this had to do with some stupid stunt Ruby pulled."

"I'll take those odds." The other girl responded. "Winner buys dinner."

"Oh my god, Blake! You rhymed!" Yang almost shouted in surprise.

"A coincidence I'm sure." Blake responded coolly.

"You're on! I say that at least one of them comes back slightly hurt and it was Ruby's fault." Yang summed up quickly.

"I'll go for nobody's fault, just Weiss in a bad mood… and nobody hurt." Blake responded with her bet.

"Well nothing to do till they get back." Yang said, pulling out her scroll and opening the social app to text her freinds. There was no reply as her teammate had gone back to reading her book.


	2. Chapter 2

"Weiss! Wait up!" Ruby whined as she half walked, half jogged to keep up with her teammate who had made a beeline straight out the front doors of the dormitory and led her along the edge of the forest surrounding the school on three sides.

Weiss sighed in exasperation as she stopped and turned to the girl with the brown hair with red tips. She was wearing her usual black and red combat outfit that featured a combat skirt and cape that was themed entirely in bright red and black. She stood there, looking at her team leader for a long time before letting out another sigh of exasperation.

"You have absolutely no idea why I'm mad at you right now, do you?" She asked, recieving a shake of the other girl's head as a response. "Of course you don't. Try using that brilliant brain of yours to think. What was the last thing that we said to each other before you disappeared?"

"Um…" Ruby thought back to her conversation with her teammate just under two hours before. "You were going to yell at me because I didn't get a good grade?"

Her guess was so far off the mark, Weiss couldn't help but crack up a little.

"You really are dense, aren't you?" Weiss asked, shaking her head in disappointment. "No wonder you only recieved a B- on that test. No, I was very impressed that you managed to raise your mark so quickly from that D you recieved three weeks ago."

"Then…" Ruby thought, wondering why Weiss was so angry right now.

"You left me standing alone in the middle of a group of guys who all seemed to want to ask me out. Once you left, they took it as a queue to start bombarding me with date requests!" Weiss exclaimed her annoyance. "I swear, if you do that again, I will not forgive you!"

"Oh…" Ruby's eyes lit with understanding. Since becoming part of Weiss's team, she'd been privy to countless guys asking the heiress out for dates that Weiss always turned down for one reason or another. Yang had even begun keeping a tally of the guys who were turned away in tears from Weiss's brutal nature.

"And one more thing!" Weiss scooped a stunned Ruby into a hug, placing their heads so she could speek directly into Ruby's ear. "Congradulations on the B-. I know you'll do even better next time."

Her voice was like a whisper, soft and tender. The complete opposite of her usual icy disposition. But before Ruby could do more than blush, Weiss had released her and spun, walking back to the school.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby called after her as she used her semblance to catch up.

"We have homework. And doing it is what makes the difference between an A and A+ on any test." Weiss stated, continuing her brisk walk.

"But we just finished a test yesterday!" Ruby whined, once again part way between a walk and a jog to keep up with the heiress.

Weiss just gave her a sceptical look that made her feel bad for saying anything. Ruby stopped, watching Weiss walk away as she thought over the whole incident, noticing there was an odd extreme air to the whole thing. From Weiss's extreme anger one minute to her soft compliment and support the next, Ruby realized there must have been more to the incident than Weiss had told.

_Well, nothing to do but study, I guess… maybe I'll go get a box of cookies before I head back to the dorm. Yeah… that sounds awesome._ Ruby's thoughts ended with a burst of rose petals as she zipped back to the school and straight to the cafeteria.


	3. Chapter 3

"I swear-" Yang voice shouted as her hair flared bright yellow with her semblance breaking the surface.

"What's up?" Ruby asked as she walked into the room, two large boxes filled with over a hundred cookies in her arms.

"Weiss did something to Ruby!" Yang said, not paying attention to who had spoken, her rage blinding her as she cracked her knuckles and approached the heiress lying on her bed.

"Um… Yang?" Yang spun around. She took in the sight of Ruby with the two large boxes of cookies for a moment before her mind clicked back to it's usual form of sanity.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled, lunging at her sister and sending the boxes flying as she pressed Ruby's head into her chest.

Ruby felt the strong arms of her sister continue pulling her tighter and she heard a crack from her shoulder realigning itself. "Yang… can't… breathe…"

Yang released Ruby quickly, her face red either from embarassment of her episode of rage or almost suffocating her sister, it was hard to tell. "I'm sorry, sis. But you'll understand I was a bit yangxious when Weiss came back and you didn't."

"For the love of…" Weiss grumbled at Yang's pun.

"That's okay, I just wanted cookies since we'll be studying again." Ruby said, a glance over at Weiss showed the white haired girl already deep into a history book.

"But we had a test yesterday, didn't we?" Yang asked, slightly confused.

"If you're okay with a C average, there's nothing we can do about it." Blake interjected for the first time. Her nose still pressed into the leather-bound volume she was reading.

"Hey, I never see you study!" Yang argued, turning away from Ruby who went to pick up the boxes and place them on the side of the desk she'd be using for her studies.

"I have an extremely good memory." Blake sighed. "I'll show you my mark if you want."

Yang and Ruby watched as she reached over, pulling the test out of her bag. At the top, in the bright red pen that had marked all the tests a large A++ and a number 2 were written.

"What's the two for?" Yang asked curiously.

"It means she recieved the second highest mark." Weiss explained. "I received the highest mark, and I've heard that Ren received third place."

"Weiss, can I ask you for help if I'm having trouble?" Ruby asked, hoping to get the intelligent girl to help with her work load. She did have to learn two extra years of school on top of her normal courses and it was extremely difficult at times.

"No." Weiss responded after a moment of thought. "Instead, I'll be your tutor. Come the next round of tests, I expect at least an A out of you."

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?" Yang asked, glancing at the hole in the drywall where she'd slammed the door open not an hour ago.

"Don't mistake my offer for kindness, I don't take academics lightly." Weiss responded, gathering her books back into her bag. "If Ruby want's me to help her learn, I'll do the best I can to give her the best chance at success but it'll be very difficult. We'll be gone till late. Don't wait up."

Weiss walked out of the room. Ruby shrugged at her sister before grabbing her bag and leaving after her teammate.

"So who's fault do you think it was?" Blake asked from her bed where she'd been sitting the whole time.

"Something tells me Ruby's." Yang responded, shaking her head at the other half of her team.

"Then we each win one part of the bet. Call it even?" Blake asked, turning a page.

"May as well." Yang responded, jumping back into her bunk.


	4. Chapter 4

Weiss was for probably the first time since Ruby'd met her, walking so Ruby could keep up with her natural pace. It wasn't that she wanted to hesitate, but Weiss knew that it could seem a little rude to just walk as if the girl wasn't there beside her.

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked, finally breaking the silence of the walk.

"To a spot I found the other day." Weiss answered, turning a corner and guiding Ruby with her.

"Um… why?" Ruby asked, still not completely understanding what was happening.

"We're going to study. I thought it best not to be disturbed by… your sister while we're at work." Weiss responded, choosing her words carefully since she didn't want to offend Ruby by insulting her sister unnecisarily. "Just through here."

The two walked through a small doorway and into a room filled with various couches, tables, and beanbag chairs. In the far corner, there was a row of vending machines that had snack foods and drinks. The lone machine that would have had sandwiches or salads was empty with an out of order sign hanging from the top of one corner.

"Let's go to the far corner, that way if someone else comes they won't disturb us." Weiss suggested, already weaving her way around the furniture to a soft looking two seater in the back corner. The large circular glass table beside it indicated the lack of thought that went into organizing the room, but Weiss had no right to complain. The furniture looked to have been thrown together from several hundred junk sales with no particular theme in mind.

"Our next test is in history." Ruby said, pulling her books out and placing them on the table. Weiss followed suit, arranging them in alphabetical order.

"That's next week, and I'm sure you have enough time to study for it. Which is your worst subject right now?" Weiss asked, considering her own marks to guess Ruby's response before she replied.

"Well…" Ruby started, hanging her head in embarrasment.

"Math, right?" Weiss said, picking up the text book and leafing through the most recent section on logarithms. "No need to be ashamed, I had trouble in the past as well, though since I've been taught business mathematics since I was six I find Beacon's curriculum a bit of a joke."

"No need to rub it in princess." Ruby grumbled opening her binder to the math section.

"Just stating facts." Weiss shrugged, picking up her history text book again. "Do the practice questions and if you get stuck, or cant figure out how to get the right answer let me know and I'll walk you through it."

Ruby nodded and started what would end up being a much longer night than she had anticipated. Over the course of the next six hours, she finished her math and passed a practice test Weiss had downloaded from the Remnet without missing a point, and studdied for History, Geography, Grimm Studies, and Weapon Development.

Ruby woke with a start and a tingling forehead as her head snapped up from its impact with the table, making Weiss drop her textbook as she awoke as well.

"What on earth are you doing?" She asked angry at her sudden awakening as she took in her surroundings. She noted the piles of notes on the table and the bags under her teammate's eyes.

"Uhh…" Ruby moaned, rubbing the grit from her eyes as she struggled to keep them open.

"Let's call it a night." Weiss reasoned, scooping up a random armful of the notes and books and dropping them into her bag. "We'll sort these notes tomorrow."

"I can't stand up." Ruby whined after she put her bag on her back. She tried again, but her legs wobbled and gave out forcing a sigh out of the younger girl as she shut her eyes in frustration.

"Come on then." Weiss grabbed Ruby by her arm and pulled her up, wrapping her arm around her leader's waist to support her.

They hadn't gone more than ten steps when Ruby felt the first sign of her returning blood flow. "Ouch! Needles! Ow ow ow ow ow!"

Weiss stopped as Ruby grimaced against the prickling nerves in her legs. After a moment, Ruby let go of her grip on Weiss's arm and started walking on her own.

"Thanks. I really hate it when I sit like that and I can't feel my legs." Ruby smiled at her teammate's kindness.

Weiss turned away as she felt some heat creap onto her face. "It's not like I could just leave you there. I left my key in the room."

"Oh…" Ruby didn't know how to respond to Weiss's comment, so she said nothing.

The couple walked in silence back to the room, passing nobody since it was well past three in the morning. On entering their room, they found their teammates asleep, Yang hanging half out of her bed as if she'd fallen asleep leaning over while talking to Blake. Blake still had a book in her hand, her thumb still keeping her page. Weiss deposited her bag on the floor beside the desk and Ruby placed hers on the desk's chair before she stumbled and almost fell.

Weiss grabbed her arm before she connected with her sister, pulling her back to her feet.

"Sorry." Ruby whispered, her face going red as she shook Weiss's hand off her arm.

"Can you even climb into your own bed?" Weiss asked skeptically as she watched Ruby sway with her eyes already half closed and fluttering. Ruby stumbled again as she approach the bed, this time grabbing onto Weiss as she fell, pulling Weiss down on top of her.

"Ouch…" Ruby grumbled staying completely still as she listened to the continued snoring of the other half of her team. She sighed in relief as her brain caught up with the fall, registering the weight of Weiss on top of her, specifically a pressure on her chest as Weiss pushed herself up.

Weiss seemed to be equally dazed from her fall, but quickly regained her senses. She jumped off of her leader, snatching her hand back quickly, her face darkening considerably.

"I'll share this one time." Weiss grumbled, seemingly upset by her own proposition. "Don't think I'll make a habbit of this."

She quickly stripped to her underclothes and slid into her bed under her covers and Ruby slowly regained her feet. Weiss slid to the far side of the bed facing the wall, leaving an overly large space at her back that clarified her offer in Ruby's mind.

Ruby quickly debated her options realizing she was so drained at the moment, she'd be lucky to climb up onto her unsteady bunk without falling and breaking her neck. She sighed and stripped down to her own underwear before slipping in behind Weiss.

"Thanks again." Ruby mumbled as her conciousness faded to sleep. Her head hadn't even hit the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

"SCHNEE!" A voice screamed as Ruby felt the warm pillow she'd had her arms draped around roughly yanked from her grip. She rolled over, trying to find it and hit the floor with a loud bang as another bang echoed in the room.

"Put me down, you brute!" Weiss was wimpering while Ruby sat up to take in the situation.

"STOP!" Blake shouted just before Yang was ready to unleash her punch at Weiss whom she had pinned against the washroom door by her throat. "Let her down. NOW!"

Yang ignored Blake's second command, keeping Weiss on the door as she choked, her face slowly turning redder and redder as Yang's hair flared bright.

"Yang! You'll strangle her!" Ruby jumped to her feet, running over to her sister. "Please, put her down."

Yang took one glance at Ruby when she realized her mistake. Ruby had her puppy dog eyes going full force and Ruby knew Yang would become her slave so long as she kept that wide-eyed look on her face.

"Fine…" She sighed, letting Weiss go and turning to hop back into her bed to prevent the temptation to further harm the heiress. Weiss fell to the ground gasping and coughing, the color slowly returning to her face. "Weiss, I'm warning you now. Next time I won't be so forgiving."

Weiss regained her feet, her gaze shooting daggers at the blond brawler before she opened the door she'd been pinned against and walked through into the washroom. Ruby entered behind her as she inspected the damage done to her neck.

A large hand shaped buise was already starting to become visible. On one side of it there were four short and thin red lines that slowly seeped blood and another single line on the other from Yang's nails. She sighed, seeing Ruby in the mirror and closing her eyes.

Ruby moved around her and pulled out the first aid kit, priming a piece of cotton to clean the punctures. She ever so gently dabbed the stinging solution onto the wounds making Weiss let out a soft hiss. Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand and pressed the cotton hard against her throat, the disinfectant eating deeper into her wound before the sting disappeared.

"Your sister has some serious mental issues." Weiss stated as she took the bandages from Ruby and applied them herself. "She has no right to act like that."

Ruby didn't have anything to say to justify her sister's actions. "It was my fault. I should have been in my own bed… but thank's for letting me share last night."

"Like I said yesterday, don't expect it again. It was a one time deal." Weiss said, avoiding eye contact with her teammate.

"You know, saying your welcome would have been good enough." Ruby said sourly. "Now I'd like to go for a shower, so unless you want to stay…"

Weiss's face went red as Ruby's cloak as she quickly bolted for the door, closing it again behind her. _Ruby you idiot._


	6. Chapter 6

Weiss had avoided Yang as per her normal routines, purposefully ignoring and avoiding her attempts to appologize for the misunderstanding. She had not forgiven Yang and decided she'd give the matter more thought once the bruising had vanished. She had even gotten mad at Ruby for mentioning Yang.

"Just you here, huh?"

Weiss looked up from her books to find Blake sitting down on the opposite side of her table in the corner of the library.

"Yes. Ruby's studying by herself today." Weiss stated. In fact she'd revoked her offer to help the girl when she started pushing Weiss to at least listen to her sister's appology.

"…" Blake cocked an eyebrow sceptically. Maybe it was her tendency to formulate fictional relationships between characters in her books but for the first time, it had started coming out in her real life relationships with Ruby and Weiss.

Weiss looked like she wanted to say something to Blake about the look on her face, but realized acknowleging it would just lead to a long, awkward conversation. One she had no intention of starting. She looked back down at her notes unseeing. She read the words written there several times over before she realized she was getting nowhere.

"Confound it!" Weiss slammed the text book shut on her notes and shoved it back into her bag in one swift movement. She rubbed her bleary eyes and looked up at Blake who was watching her over her everpresent book.

"Done for the day?" She asked uncaringly as she turned a page, her eyes seeming to scan the page and keep a firm gaze on Weiss at the same time.

"Yes, I believe so." Weiss answered, replacing the pens into her pencil case and slipping it back into her bag beside her books. "Will you be staying here longer?"

"No, I came to find you actually." Blake answered.

"If this is another plea to listen to Yang, forget it." Weiss responded, waiting to stand until their conversation was completed.

"What you do is your business." Blake replied, knowing Weiss would appreciate the conversation more if it sounded like she was just stating facts.

"Well, that makes one of you that respects boundaries." Weiss grumbled, closing her eyes and sighing. "Both of them just say what they want and expect it to happen. I wont be ordered around like some common slave."

"You realize that the concept goes two ways, right?" When Weiss didn't respond, Blake snapped her book shut and put it down on the table. "They say listen, and you respond shut up. It's the exact same thing but reversed."

"I suppose you make a valid point." Weiss admitted grudgingly. "Although I don't see the necessity for them to be so persistent about this."

"Have you tried seeing it from their point of view?" Blake asked, once again raising her eyebrow in scepticism.

"There isn't much to see. Yang's feeling guilty about overreacting, and Ruby wants me to get along with that brute." Weiss stated, her tone flat.

"You might be right in terms of Yang, but not Ruby." Blake replied, knowing Yang's thought process went no further than a slight guilt about the incident. "Ruby doesn't just want you two to get along, she wants you to be friends."

"That can't even be described as a stupid idea!" Weiss laughed. "That goes so far past stupid I can't even begin to describe it!"

"Exactly how much do you know about Ruby?" Blake asked after Weiss's laughter had died down. "About her old friends, and her personality specifically."

Weiss shook her head, not trusting herself to speak just yet. In all honesty, she'd wondered here and there, but for the most part all she saw was a hyperactive, cookie loving girl with an unhealthy attachment to her weapon. She'd always assumed Ruby'd had friends that she wrote to, but had never been interested enough to ask about them.

"Yang told me a while ago that we were the closest thing Ruby's ever had to real friends." Blake smiled at the shocked look on Weiss's face. "Before Beacon, Yang was basically Ruby's only friend. Not counting teachers who found her quite enjoyable apparently. Anyhow, she's probably feeling caught in the middle of you and Yang right now. The no man's land as it were."

"Why on Remnant would she feel caught between her sister and me? I couldn't care less if they disappeared tomorrow never to be seen again." Weiss stood, Blake following her out of the library back to the dorm.

"That's a lie." Blake responded once they passed the lady at the front counter. "I know you like Ruby, and I can't imagine someone who didn't care offering to become a tutor."

Weiss didn't respond to Blake since she knew it was another point for her line of reasoning. After they turned another corner, Blake continued.

"And as for the why…. Ruby's different than us, empathetic to a fault. She can't just ignore when her friends are suffering. I'm sure she felt the rage of her sister and the guilt that followed, but also your pain for dealing with it." Blake fell silent as another student came within earshot and passed. "It's a lot for one person to feel, and that's not including her own emotions on the matter. I'm sure she also feels guilty for starting the whole thing by asking you to help her study, and if she doesn't yet then it'll come once her brain has time to percolate with the facts."

"Come on, how could she possibly think any of this was her fault?" Weiss's dismissive tone was rubbing a nerve in Blake, but she knew Weiss well enough from watching that she hid her true emotions extremely well beneath the spiky words and tone she often adopted.

"People tend to blame themselves, it's human nature." Blake responded slyly. "And Ruby's not the type to force anything on anyone, she'll hold onto that guilt until it's resolved in one way or another. Who knows, if Yang was right that she really hasn't had any friends, then she'll feel like she's losing her first and best friend because of her sister. If that happens, then nobody involved wins."

"Fine, you've made your point. I'll say something to them." Weiss grumbled, opening the door to find Yang and Ruby both jumping out of their bunks.


	7. Chapter 7

"Weiss! I-" Yang began to be interrupted by Ruby.

"No, I-"

"Stop!" Weiss put up two hands as Blake walked around her to sit on her bed and continue reading. "Just stop."

Yang hung her head in appology as Ruby glared at Weiss's unflinching gaze until her eyes watered and she looked away.

"Now, first I'm going to deal with you, Yang. Then it'll be Ruby's turn." Weiss announced so the sisters had an idea of what she had finally decided.

"Weiss, I really-" Yang started but Weiss stopped her again, her ice cold gaze freezing Yang's tongue.

"First, let me say I understand everything that made you do what you did. I assume I would have done the same if I had a little sister." Yang nodded in agreement, but stayed quiet as Weiss continued. "But you should try to ask questions before you start strangling people. Answers tend to come faster when there is an airway."

Blake let out a stiffled giggle at Weiss's comment, which drew the sisters eyes from Weiss for a second.

"And I know you want to appologize, but I feel this transgretion should be penalized. Hence I will not accept an apology until this bruising disappears in three or four days, and I expect you to answer any questions directed to me about how I recieved it. Am I understood?" Weiss spit out her conditions on how this was going to go without taking a breath.

"Okay. I guess that's fair." Yang nodded, extending her hand. Weiss shook the firm grip as Yang turned back to her bed.

"Now you…." Weiss thought a moment as she heard her team leader's stomach growl. "Get dinner while we talk?"

"Sure." Ruby nodded, beginning her ritual of taking orders on Weiss's notepad.

Several minutes later, the two girls found themselves walking down an empty hall on the way to the cafeteria to pick up the food for their team and bring back to their room.

"Sooo…" Ruby started awkward as ever.

"What do you think of me Ruby?" Weiss asked, slowing her pace until she stopped facing Ruby who'd stopped with her.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

"Exactly what I said, no wrong answers so just say whatever you want." Weiss knew normally this wouldn't be a good thing to say, but it seemed even Blake agreed Ruby wasnt the type of person to abuse the free pass.

"Well, you can be cold sometimes but I know you're really a decent person, you just aren't very good at talking to people. Heh, I should talk! Your beyond normal smart and you're a good teacher, but you tend to get mad at small things. Not to mention you have an almost OCD style of perfectionist mentality." Ruby finished, muttering something else under her breath that Weiss couldn't catch.

"Thanks… I think…." Weiss didn't really know what she'd wanted to hear from her leader, but it wasn't that. After several long moments of silence, she spoke up. "I need to appologize to you Ruby."

"What for?" Ruby asked, uncertainly.

"Blake helped me realize that my actions unintentionally hurt you. For that I extend my sincerest appologies." Weiss said, wincing inwardly as she realized how fake it sounded coming out of her mouth. "Sorry, bad habits."

Ruby giggled a little at Weiss's formality and how she must think she sounded. "You're pretty funny too."

"Yeah, thanks." Weiss forced a smile for a moment before turning back to the matter at hand. "But I'm serious, Ruby. I didn't intend to rescind my offer to study with you. As you've said, I'm not very proficient with conversing with others. I just couldn't think of a better way for you to stop pestering me about Yang."

"Does that mean you'll help me again? Because it actually helped a lot." Ruby said, thinking back on the terrible time she'd had after Weiss had stormed off earlier in the day.

"Of course. I wont break my promise. I'll help you whenever you need me." Weiss smiled slightly, fighting a blush forcing its way onto her face. "After all, it wouldn't reflect well on me if my leader ends up failing the year."

The two girls continued onward into the cafeteria, exchanging not a single word between them as they ordered the food and waited for it to be packaged. The line wasn't long so they only spent five minutes in the still crowded room before returning to the nearly deserted hallways.

"You know, I can't figure you out sometimes." Ruby said as they neared the stairs leading to their dorm. "Sometimes I think you're mad and you're really not, and other times I swear you're trying to be nice but end up insulting me instead."

"I don't mean to be insulting…." Weiss tried coming up with a good explanation but couldn't. "I just… I dont know… get embarrassed I guess. My family isn't a very touchy-feely group of people. I'm not used to expressing most emotions."

"I guess that makes a bit of sense." Blake came up behind the couple, returning from who knows where.

"Don't do that!" Ruby spun, a few of her signature rose petals falling as she switched her semblance off.

"Hi guys." Blake joined them walking back to the dorm. They only had one more turn before they'd be in the right hall. "Ruby, just so you know, there is a term that perfectly describes Weiss's personality."

"Excuse me, please don't lump me in with-" Weiss started but was cut off by Blake.

"Chill out princess. It's just a term of description." Blake explained turning back to Ruby. "The term is tsundere. It's two words combined that means spiky-sweet in another language. Basically it's used to describe someone who comes across as cold and cruel but is really just misunderstood since they lack the social ability to come across any differently."

"And where would you even learn that?" Weiss asked, not very happy about Blake giving Ruby a label for her.

"It mostly comes up on anime forums." Blake shrugged as she opened the door.

"Thank god! I'm starving!" Yang burst out, charging from her bed at Ruby who was carrying most of the food.

"Hold on Yang! You're going to-" Ruby squeaked urgently as Yang barrelled into her, knocking her towards Blake who used her semblance to move out of the way as Ruby kept falling only for Weiss to grab her in in a tight hug to stop her from landing on the floor.

"Yang, you idiot! Be more considerate!" Weiss shouted, setting Ruby back on her own feet.

"It's fine, Weiss. Thank's for the catch by the way." Ruby waved off Yang's tackle with a small laugh, giving her sister the bag.

"Y-your welcome." Weiss felt herself blush and turned away, playing off her embarassment as a yawn. "I'm tired, so I'm going to head off. Goodnight."

Weiss jumped into her bed, pulling the covers up to her head, not even bothering to take off her clothes since she intended on doing her laundry the next day.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Ruby asked, concern in her voice.

"No. I'm not very hungry today. You can have mine if you'd like." Weiss responded, smiling at the wall and closing her eyes. "Goodnight."


	8. Chapter 8

Weiss sat at the single most amazing spot she'd ever found at Beacon Academy. She stared out over the land that was slowly turning whiter and whiter as the light slowly dimmed. The large snow flakes falling gently just past the inch of insulated glass that separated her from the outside. She gently pressed her hand on the window, feeling the cold bite from the chilled air on the other side.

She'd been sitting in this spot for no less than four hours and thirty seven minutes. In that time, she'd finished her allotted studies for the day and successfully ignored eighty two… scratch that, eighty three messages and calls made to her scroll. She had thought ahead and left a note on her pillow that morning saying not to wait up if it started to snow.

She looked down at the list on her phone that she'd gotten simply because the scroll's communication system was quite a bit less than reliable. The long list told her the messages had all been sent from her team. For every message or call she'd gotten from her leader, there had been one from one of the other members of her team. Logically, she knew they'd be worried about her and that it was Ruby's job to make sure her team is okay, but deeper than even she'd allow herself to look, there was a grain of indescribable satisfaction in looking at how the messages from that rambunctious red haired girl made up more than half the list.

The darkness outside was slowly growing deeper, making the flourescent lights behind her start to make the glass mirror her face in the reflection that was before now almost invisible.

The long scar running from above her left eye to the cheek below was clearly visible even in the dim reflection. For a second, she frowned before she forced herself to look past it at the snow.

Her thoughts went by slowly, not stopping, but not rushing as they normally did. She was alone, and was confident nobody would find her in her hiding spot. The spot was above a doorway that was a main hallway during the day. The spot she sat on was only accessible from the second floor through an old classroom that had long since been designated as a storage room and filled. Now the room stood as a dusty reminder of how styles of woodworking had changed over the past two hundred years. In the very back of that room was a small hatch that opened to the windows. The only unfortunate part of the spot was that the flourescent light from the very top of the four story pillar of space were constantly lit.

Yet another call made her phone dance across the floor as the counter for Ruby's calls incremented.

_Why is that girl so insistent?_ Weiss wondered, remembering how determined Ruby'd been to befriend her at the beginning of the semester. _It's not like I didn't inform them that I'd be unreachable today._

She switched her phone off, not wanting to hear the steady hum of it sliding across the slightly inclined floor. Her scroll buzzed, in her pocket making the heiress sigh. She'd had it set up so she'd still be able to get messages even when away from the city's cellular service.

Weiss looked away from the snow at the device, not wanting to ignore the snow but finding it ever so difficult to concentrate. The device loaded the messages slowly, it's low bandwidth evident when compared to the smaller more high tech phone. Once they were done, she opened the conversation with Ruby and scrolled down the list, reading the messages.

_Where are you?_

_We'll be going to Vale, need anything?_

_I found a cute shirt for you, should I get it? Here's a pic._

_Helllllooooooooooooo? Are you there?_

_Sorry, I guess you're busy._

_You do know it only takes ten seconds to respond, right?_

_We're back, you didn't say if we should pick up dinner for you or if you'll be eating alone. If you don't reply, I won't get anything for you._

The list went on almost indefinitely after Ruby'd gotten back to the dorm, being bored as she normally was in the evenings. Weiss sighed, skipping over the repetitive messages that sounded at times like Ruby would have been whining if she were to speak them. As she neared the end, Ruby's messages turned from friendly and clueless to concerned and worrying.

_Seriously, Weiss. Where are you? I don't even know if you're alive! At least let me know that your thumbs haven't fallen off!_

_Scratch that, I don't really care about your thumbs. Just let us know you're still alive. Please!_

_This is ridiculous, you could have been kidnapped for all I know! How will I explain that to Ozpin? 'Hey Ozzy, just letting you know that Weiss ran off and got herself stolen. We have no idea where she might be so if you can help us on top of running a school and half a city, then we'd really appreciate it.' I don't think so!_

_Please Weiss, please just answer me back once! I promise I'll let you have the shower first for a week! I'm really worried about you!_

Weiss finally came to the end and the keyboard popped up for her to enter a response. She hesitated, wondering if her choice was the right one. On one hand, she'd told them in her note that she'd be gone for the day and that she'd be back late if it snowed. She also stated that she wouldn't respond to messages or answer her phone for any reason since she'd decided to take the day off. On the other hand, it seemed Ruby was even more worried than normal and some part of Weiss didn't want to worry her more than was necessary. Even that thought confused her since she couldn't care less about worrying her parents and they shared DNA.

Slowly, she brought her fingers down on the touch screen to type a message to her leader. When she finished, she re-read the whole thing to make sure she didn't come across rudely since it was all too easy to be misunderstood when conversing in text.

_Ruby, I am fine and I appreciate the concern, but it is unnecessary. I am currently at one of my favourite study spots and you need not worry since I am still at Beacon. I will return in the next couple hours, I only wish to enjoy watching the snow fall in silence. Please do not respond to this message._

She nodded to herself. She had written everything necessary within the character limit, though it lacked the grammar she was used to using in her shorter messages. _It'll have to do._ She thought as she pressed send on the top of the screen. A slight buzz and a whoosh sound told her the message had been sent.

She turned off her scroll and leaned back to the wall as she stared out the window at the falling snow as it lulled her into her meditative state once again. She thought about her life in the past month and a half since she started Beacon. The friends she'd made, ones that had suddenly appeared, and ones that were rejected and still came back. There were the countless hopefulls that she had to shoot down when they asked her out. She remembered the lone condition she'd been allowed to attend the academy on. She remembered the threat behind it. But of all these things, she kept circling back between them, organizing them until her thoughts were sorted like a professional business's files.

Of all the thoughts though, one stood alone in a category that had no place among the others. _Ruby Rose, the daughter of the late Summer Thomson and Darwin Rose. Half sisters with Yang Xiao Long, daughter of Natsuko Long. Leader of my team, and my first friend. _She listed off, thinking of Ruby when her own mind betrayed her. Thoughts she'd discouraged and even forced into oblivion at times flew at her at the speed of light, disturbing her ordered mind with the chaos they acheived.

Weiss clutched her head as she forced the thoughts out again. Her temple throbbed painfully and water fell on her cheeks as she shed the tears that were inexplicably attached to the thoughts she destroyed.

Once she was finished forcing all thought from her mind and simply watching the snow through the mirror-like glass, she wiped her face with her jacket sleeve, soaking it with the salty liquid on her face.

_Violent sun, vigilant moon, joyful rain, unchanging ice. _She recited the calming ancient nursery rhyme as she watched the snow land in the fountain in the courtyard she overlooked, a thin layer of ice already formed on the cold water's surface.


	9. Chapter 9

The walk back to her dorm was uneventful. She passed neither student nor teacher in the long deserted halls once she'd left the abandoned class room. In front of her dorm, she realized she still hadn't turned her devices on as she reached past her phone to get her key.

She opened the door to find Blake and Yang in their respective beds. Ruby was nowhere to be seen, but the bathroom door was closed so Weiss assumed she was in there.

She sat down on her bed after saying a simple hello to her team, ignoring Yang's questions about where she'd been.

Weiss waited patiently for the washroom to open so she could shower. When it finally did open seven minutes later, Ruby stepped out in nothing but a towel, forcing Weiss to look away.

"Nice one sis!" Yang laughed at Weiss's reaction as Ruby went over to the shared dresser and opened her drawer.

"Oh, no… this can't be…" Ruby mumbled, running her hand across the bottom of the empty drawer.

"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, curious as to why Ruby hadn't yet gotten herself dressed.

"There's nothing left… I swear there was a set here yesterday…" Ruby thought back remembering the lone pair of pyjamas. "… that I used. How come this always happens to me?"

"Relax, you can borrow my stuff." Yang supplied, pointing to the top drawer which she'd claimed for herself.

"I guess I have no choice…. Does anyone have a string or something? Otherwise the shorts will be falling down." Ruby's face was red as she appealed to her team. Blake shrugged as she turned a page, still not saying a word. Yang shook her head and grunted as she normally does when the answer is obvious.

Weiss sighed. She didn't have a string or know where to find one, but she had done her laundry that very morning before the rest of her team had woken up.

"Take two steps away from the dresser." She instructed as she got up, keeping her eyes away from her teammate as she approached the dresser and bent down. Naturally, she'd gotten the bottom drawer from being the only member of the team not to engage in the childish game of dibs that had taken place the first morning in the dorm.

She opened the drawer and pulled out one of her seven night gowns that would last her the week. She took a deep breath and handed it to Ruby while taking another out for herself since she was already crouched down.

"We're the same size, so you shouldn't have a problem. Just please make sure you wash it and return it to me by next week." Weiss sighed, turning the long way to go back to her bed, not wanting to look in the direction of her team leader while she was only covered with a thin towel.

Weiss suddenly felt a firm pressing on her back as arms wrapped themselves around her waist. Two soft mounds snapped her brain out of her collected mood as she started to panic.

"R-R-Ruby! Wh-what are y-you d-doing?" She stuttered, dropping her gown to the floor.

"Thank's so much Weiss!" Ruby said, squeezing Weiss even tighter in her hug. Weiss was painfully aware of each and every small sensation of Ruby's embrace wishing for it to both continue and stop at the same time as her blood pressure skyrocketed. "I promise I'll return this to you tomorrow!"

"N-no rush, r-really!" Weiss said, her brain too confused as her blood pounded through it and the rest of her body to figure out what she could do in this situation. She hoped Ruby wouldn't sense the sudden blush covering her entire body by the heat it must have been giving off.

Ruby released her and a second later the bathroom door closed again.

Weiss stood in the middle of the room fighting to control her elevated pulse until a bored sounding Yang spoke from her bed.

"Chill out Weiss. That happens all the time." She said.

"Which part? The empty drawer or the hugging n-naked?" Weiss asked, still processing the event in her head.

"Both. Better get used to it. We've still got three years to go."

"Great." Weiss responded sarcastically as Ruby opened the door dressed in the short white gown. She looked really out of her element as she looked at her team shyly.

"Lookin sharp sis." Yang laughed from her bunk.

Ruby seemed to take offence to the laugh and the next second she was in bed, feigning sleep as rose petals floated to the floor.

"I'm not cleaning that up." Weiss stated matter of factly as she headed to the washroom to change. She avoided placing her gaze in the direction of the swinging bunk bed as she passed it. Just before she shut the door and locked it, she added one more comment to help cheer her obviously embarrased leader. "And the gown looks good on you."

Since she was the last one that needed to change, she was sure her roommates wouldn't mind her taking a longer than normal amount of time.

The shower hissed as the hot water mixed with the cold and fell onto Weiss's hand as she fine tuned the temperature to her liking. She stepped into the scalding water, squeezing her eyes shut as her sensitive skin was lit ablaze from the sudden immersion in the extreme temperature. She let a quiet hiss pass her lips as her body got used to the water.

The heat did nothing to soothe her panicking pulse and she felt a headache start to surface. She felt her already heated skin flush as all the tiny blood vessels rose to the surface to cool. She killed the hot water, sending a wave of pure ice washing over her.

She gasped, her body fighting against the shock she'd forced upon it. She quickly turned off the water and towelled off before she started to shiver. Her hair posing the largest problem as it stood a good chance at giving her a cold if left untended.

She stood exposed in front of the parially fogged mirror taking in her appearance as she measured her breathing. She felt her body readjusting itself to her normal state and simply waited, watching the scarred reflection's small chest heave up and down. She looked up to find her face frowning as it always did in the mirror and looked away.

_Unnecessary pieces of furniture._ She complained in her head as she spun and put her night gown on. She exited the washroom without looking back at the mirror, the fog finally leaving its surface completely as she opened the door.

The room beyond was dark save the lone candle Blake was using to read. The faunus paid no attention to her teammate as she lay down in her bed and pulled the covers up before turning on her side to face the wall.

Not a single sound was heard in the room for several hours as not one of the teammates had fallen asleep. Slowly Yang began to snore before Weiss heard Ruby's breathing slow. The candle was extinguished as Blake finished reading for the night and Weiss finally felt sleep tug at her consciousness. Her mind still busy trying desperately yet in vain to identify the true source of her earlier discomfort. _What is wrong with me? And why now all of a sudden?_


	10. Chapter 10

Weiss slept fitfully that night, and several nights more as the exact same desperate need to find the answer within herself controlled her dreams which were less than unhelpful to the heiress.

The energy she did manage to get out of her sleep was exhausted after a single class, yet she still had several more to go before she would be allowed to see the case of her pillow again.

She walked listlessly with her team to the next class, not one of them commenting on her quiet attitude the last few days. She noticed every now and then her leader would look back from her place among the group as if to make sure everything was how she'd last seen it. The look of concern in her light silver eyes strange to Weiss as she'd never seen the girl so hesitant.

Weiss felt herself stumble on the three stairs that joined the two buildings with a hallway that had been constructed long after the stone structures had been completed. She found herself hanging onto Ruby's shoulder as she steadied herself.

"You guys go ahead. If Goodwitch asks, tell her I'm tending to a team issue." Ruby instructed, impressing Weiss with her newly forming skills as the team leader.

"See ya later then!" Yang ruffled Ruby's hair as she walked past, Blake nodding silently as she followed.

Ruby put her arm around Weiss and started walking back to their dorm. Weiss was too tired to complain about missing class, and with Ruby's arm forcefully guiding her down the hall, she could do little but keep walking.

They arrived at the room some time later, Weiss feeling her body radiating heat as Ruby forced her down onto her bed.

"Try to get some rest, okay?" Ruby asked, putting the scroll Weiss hadn't noticed away as if she'd already finished whatever she'd used it for.

"Kay." Weiss closed her eyes obediently as she felt her tiredness take over. She sighed inwardly as her dreams once again began to torment her.

Somewhere between the sixth or seventh repetition of dreaming and waking up, she noticed a presence in the room. Unfortunately she fell into yet another dream before she could do more than notice Ruby conversing with him.

The room was dark when she finally awoke completely. A steady throb in her temple told her she'd yet again failed to get enough sleep to do anything more than stay awake for the next hour or two.

She sat up, surprised when a figure jumped out of the chair at the desk.

"You're finally awake." Ruby whispered in courtesy to her other teammates.

"What time is it?" Weiss grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"About three AM." Ruby answered while fiddling with something on the desk.

"Why are you up? You should be sleeping. We have class tomorrow." Weiss said, her disapprovement clear in her voice.

"Actually, _we_ have the day off tomorrow. Everything's been taken care of." Ruby said approaching Weiss with a small cup and a glass of water.

"What? How?" Weiss asked, her confusion evident as she ignored the items in Ruby's hands.

"While you were asleep, I had a doctor come in. He said you have a fever and the best thing is a bit of bed rest." Ruby forced the glass of water into Weiss's hands and put the small plastic cup to her lips, tilting it into her mouth. Weiss coughed hard at the vile taste of the medicine as it stung her throat. She quickly downed the glass of water that did little to alleviate the taste. "I've gotten permission from Ozpin to miss classes for the next few days."

Weiss nodded, feeling suddenly tired again. "Thank you. But you can still go to class, I've taken care of myself before."

Ruby shook her head, unnecessarily tucking Weiss in before feeling her forehead. "You're part of a team now, Weiss. And on my team we take care of each other first, academics come second…. You don't have to be alone anymore."

The last sentence she whispered more quietly than the rest as Weiss's eyes closed and she sunk back to sleep. This time, there were no dreams.


	11. Chapter 11

Weiss woke up in a panic. Acid was burning her throat and she willed herself not to gag as she attempted to claw her way out of the sheets that were wrapped around her far too tightly.

She lurched forward as the acid ignored her hopes and started forcing its way up. She closed her eyes and bent over the edge of her bed as her stomach heaved and attempted to empty what little it still had inside it.

She was suddenly aware of the hollow noise of her sick landing in a bucket and the warm gentleness of a hand keeping her long hair out of her face and the bucket.

When she'd recovered somewhat, she collapsed weakly on her pillow. Her eyes blurry from the sting of her stomach acid burning her throat and the horrible night she'd spent waking up every ten minutes for the last few hours.

"Here. Rinse." Ruby helped her teammate to a sitting position and handed her a glass of water and picked up the bucket. Weiss rinsed and spit the remnants of the foul substance into the bucket before once again falling back to her pillow.

Weiss sighed exhaustedly and rubbed her eyes. This last bout of sleep had given her just enough energy to be unable to go straight back to sleep.

"Let me take your temperature." Ruby's request repeated once again. She'd been very professional about monitoring Weiss's condition and providing everything she needed.

Weiss had never thought another person would put so much work into taking care of her. Especially not someone who she has not exactly been kind to. But regardless of her reasoning, Ruby was there. She was there the previous night, and had promised to be there until she had recovered. _What did I do to deserve this?_

"Still high. But that's what I expected." Ruby sighed, resuming her seat at the desk chair. "Get some more rest. I'll make the bath for you in a couple of hours. It'll be good for you to freshen up a bit."

"Excuse me?" Weiss heard nothing but an insult in Ruby's comment.

"I just meant you might feel a bit better when you're clean is all." Ruby clarified, closing her eyes and yawning at the end of the sentence.

"Oh… sorry." Weiss didn't know what else to say. _And I'm still doing nothing to deserve her care. What is wrong with me?_

Ruby was silent as she waited for Weiss to fall asleep again. Her hands were folded behind her head in a makeshift headrest and her eyes were closed against the dim sunlight that filtered in through the closed drapes.

Weiss guessed it was around noon already and her teammates would still be out for the next five or six hours. She closed her eyes and tried to fall back to sleep herself, yet the questions that had drove her into a weakened, sleep deprived state were back once again.

_Why? _That was the beginning of every single question she had. And each time she came close to an answer, it slipped away. A maddening cycle of cat and mouse that left her already sleep deprived brain reeling with frustration.

"Weiss? Are you okay?" Ruby asked quietly as if she was unsure whether or not the ailed girl was awake.

"I'm fine. You've done enough for me." Weiss replied, her frustration knocked aside by Ruby's distraction.

There was a long moment of silence before Ruby responded. "I wasn't asking about your flu."

Weiss took a moment to process Ruby's comment. _Not about my flu… why would she…? _"I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"I dunno… you haven't really been yourself lately." Ruby sighed. "I don't really know how to explain it… it's like you have something on your mind, but…"

Weiss waited for her to continue, but she didn't. _Only she would pick up on the one thing I can't even explain to myself._ "Don't worry, it's just something I have to figure out myself."

"I could help." Ruby offered, her voice smiling and adding yet another layer of frustration to Weiss's thoughts as she felt herself smile slightly in response.

"Not with this you can't. With luck, I'll figure it out soon." Weiss said, hoping to end the conversation without Ruby looking into the issue.

"Will you tell me when you do?" Ruby asked as the creaking of the desk chair told Weiss she'd stood up.

"It depends…" Weiss answered honestly. _I don't even know what question I'm trying to answer._

"Okay. I'm running to the store quick. Will you be okay?" Weiss opened her eyes to see Ruby putting on her cape.

"I'll be fine." Weiss sighed from Ruby's insistence that she was unable to care for herself. _Though she is useful for holding my hair…_ Weiss pushed the bad memories of her past away as she watched Ruby take her scroll and leave.


	12. Chapter 12

Weiss woke up to the bright room. The blinds were partially open and the little bit of light seemed oddly powerful as it easily illuminated the entire room. She turned her head to look at the clock on the wall and noticed it was only six in the morning.

Oddly enough, she felt fantastic. The flu she'd had seemed completely gone and even her energy was back from the last few days she'd spent sleeping. Ruby let out a grumble as the office chair beneath her cracked while her weight shifted on top of it. After a moment, she remained asleep.

Across the room, her teammates were sleeping like they always did. Blake was curled up into a ball under her thick winter covers, and Yang hung in her light pajamas over the edge of her bed with her limbs sprawled every which way. She hung so far off the edge that the slightest shift could send her crashing down onto the floor.

Weiss sat up slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements and disturb her sleeping teammates. She picked up the currently empty bucket beside her bed and carried it with her to the washroom where she placed it in the corner before taking a look in the mirror.

The face reflected back at her had obviously been recently sick, with its slightly pale color and the slightly accented colors of her cheeks. Other than that she seemed perfectly fine which made this the first time she'd made it through the flu without looking as if she'd gone through hell. In reality, the only difference was that Ruby had kept her company this time.

She turned and started to draw a bath since it was Saturday and none of them had any classes. She figured her team wouldn't be too angry if she relaxed a little and recharged.

At that thought she stopped. The water was filling up slowly as she realized she had no reason to take the bath. She was well rested, and she'd taken a quick bath the night before so she was also clean. The water reached the point where she normally turned it off and did so, wondering if she should just pull the plug and let it drain or if she should wake up someone else before the water cooled.

_You do owe Ruby for taking care of you the last three days and keeping tabs on the classwork that was assigned._ A voice in her head spoke.

_Well, I guess it'll be a start to paying her back._ She thought in response to herself as she turned and walked out of the room.

Her teammates were exactly where she'd left them. Ruby still mumbling about who knows what, Blake still mimicking a ball and Yang attempting to get the world record for accidentally remaining on her bed. Weiss approached Ruby and placed her hand over her mouth gently. She could feel herself start to blush as Ruby's lips pressed themselves to her hand.

"Hey! Dolt!" Weiss whispered into her leader's ear. Ruby snapped awake quickly, taking panicked look around. When she realized what was happening, Weiss removed her hand and continued. "Take a bath before the water gets cold."

"Why is there water in the tub?" Ruby asked, obviously still too tired to think straight.

"Because I wanted a bath, then changed my mind." Weiss said as her blush deepened. "Anyway, I thought you could use one to relax a bit."

"Thanks Weiss. Are you sure?" Ruby asked, sitting up a little before cracking her stiff neck.

"Go relax, Ruby." Weiss said, walking back to her bed to strip it of the sheets she'd lived on for the last few days. "And afterward, if you're stiff from that dreadful chair, I suppose I wouldn't be completely against working out the kinks for you. Since you did take care of me the last few days."

Ruby nodded and got up. She walked to the washroom and stopped just before closing the door. "Thanks Weiss. This means a lot from you, but you don't have to repay me."

"I know. I want to. Now go." Weiss pulled off the last of her bedding and tossed it into a pile she'd have to wash later. _Maybe I'll do Ruby's too. Then we'll be at least partially even._

Weiss pulled out new sheets and made her bed in the silence. Once she finished, she looked at the large pile of clothing that belonged to her and the one next to it that belonged to Ruby. _This is going to be a very, very long day._


	13. Chapter 13

"So you guys saw the posters, right?" Yang said excitedly as they returned from their classes Monday evening.

"Yes. I was planning on an anime marathon that night, so…" Blake trailed off, feeling her intentions were implied.

"Whelp, too bad!" Yang playfully attempted to pick her partner up just to be pushed away seconds later.

"I'm not going. And you can't make me!" Blake asserted, her voice betraying a hint of a whine.

"What do you think?" Ruby piped up from beside her sister, looking at Weiss.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, having not been paying attention to her team.

"Well, that party on the thirty first. Would you, um… wanna go?" Ruby asked as a barely visible blush came across her face.

"I suppose I could be persuaded." Weiss answered. In truth, she'd planned on taking Ruby shopping for a dress that coming weekend. She'd already checked the security plans and cleared the outing with her father. _Why I have to clear anything with him now is beyond me._

"Please? I really want to go but I don't want to go with Yang!" Ruby pleaded theatrically, dropping to her knees and folding her hands in front of her face.

"HEY!" Yang shouted, taking offense to her sisters words.

"Then you're coming with me this Saturday." Weiss responded, turning away and continuing her trek down the hall.

"Uh… was that a yes?" Ruby asked Yang who shrugged in response.

"It wasn't a no." Blake said, once again pulling out her book as she waited for the rest of her team to start moving again.

"Alright!" Ruby cheered gleefully. "Let's go back to the dorm, team!"

"Yeah!" Yang cheered, once again pumped up for the evening.

"And do our homework!" Ruby added almost as an afterthought.

"NOOO!" Yang dropped to her knees, reaching her hands to the sky.

Blake walked away to find Weiss watching the spectacle from just around the next corner. "I swear those two are straight out of a bad fan fiction."

"Although it seems our lives would be quite uneventful without them." Weiss responded carefully. She rarely talked to the faunus outside of the group and it often felt awkward.

Blake nodded and continued walking as Weiss watched Ruby pull a laughing Yang to her feet.

The members of RWBY each reached the dorm separately. By the time Weiss had finished half of her Weapon Development homework, Ruby and Yang walked in laden with bags of fast food for the whole team. Weiss returned to her sketch of her weapon's internal mechanism, attempting to draw as accurately as possible so as not to have the countless gears seeming to lock into the wrong places.

She was surprised that the room was relatively quiet compared to how it was when Yang normally walked in, but didn't complain. She didn't even notice the slight pressure at the foot of her bed as she drew the long curve of the injector pin on top of several of the gears. Satisfied with her work, she closed her book and looked up to find herself looking straight into a set of silver eyes.

"Wha-" Weiss jumped back into her headboard as she finally noticed Ruby sitting at the end of her bed holding two Styrofoam containers, each with a burger and fries.

"You looked like you were concentrating so I didn't want to interrupt." Ruby said, handing one of the trays to Weiss. Yang snorted and started laughing loudly, returning the room to the usual level of chaos.

"I don't want to be rude, but next time could you please not stare at me until I finish?" Weiss asked, feeling like she was glowing from the inside.

"No promises." Ruby laughed diabolically, earning her a thumbs up from her sister.

Weiss dropped the subject, sensing she'd get nowhere from an argument. She ate her food and checked the time. There was still enough time to get started on the massive Grimm Studies project they'd been assigned.

"I'm going to the library to start our project." Weiss announced to Ruby, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

About half way to the library, a slight pulse of air pressure and a brief breeze following shortly after announced Ruby's arrival. The couple walked in silence to the library.

Once there, Weiss walked in one direction for reference material while Ruby found a table that wasn't too crowded. Weiss found Ruby at a completely empty corner seat scribbling in her notes. As she drew closer, Weiss identified it as the Weapon Development homework. On the paper in front of Ruby, she'd drawn a long number.

"What's that?" Weiss asked curiously, wondering if Ruby was once again trying to cheat on her homework.

"A reference number to the schematic of my weapon. I had to provide one when Ozpin accepted me since my weapon is a bit unusual." Ruby explained. "I almost missed the initiation because I wasn't finished when it was due."

"I suppose that would be sufficient." Weiss agreed, setting the books down on the table. "I suppose the first job is to figure out what Grimm we should study."

"Hmmm…" Ruby thought as she replaced her notebook with a different one. "Well, I can only speak for me, but I sort of want to learn more about Nevermores."

Weiss thought about this as she started leafing through the assignment. "It seems the purpose isn't to make us learn. Just to amass enough information for a thirty page essay. Nevermores might not be the best choice."

"Port did teach us a lot about Boarbatusks, maybe those?" Ruby suggested, referencing the eighty page notebook that was dedicated to their whole first unit in his class.

"But they're not very interesting. There's only so much to talk about since their anatomy is very basic." Weiss stated. "How Port managed to turn that single story into a unit is beyond me."

Ruby laughed at Weiss's joke. It was rare for her to engage in that type of conversation, so Ruby knew that either she was in a very good mood or they'd become closer as friends. She hoped the latter. "How about an Ursa? Major or Minor doesn't matter, right?"

Weiss flipped through the index in the book she was looking at, finding the pages on Ursi. "There's only two pages in this book. Lets see if the others have anything better."

The next half hour was spent with Ruby and Weiss checking every book in the library before finally asking the librarian if there were any academic materials on Ursi that could be used for their project. Unfortunately the single book that focused on them was checked out and the rest were books they'd already looked through.

"Well, that's somewhat disappointing." Weiss sighed, sitting back at their table with Ruby.

"Yeah, but I guess it couldn't be helped. There's only so many books in the dorm library." Ruby sighed. "I would suggest to go to Vale, but that'll be a bit difficult not to mention wasting our whole weekend."

Weiss hesitated. Sure, she didn't want to waste a weekend doing homework in Vale, but what else could they…

"Ruby? What was the Grimm that was mentioned the most in all the books we looked through?" Weiss asked as a sudden idea hit her.

"Beowolves, why?" Ruby asked. "But that would be too easy, wouldn't it?"

"Normally, yes. But remember what Goodwitch said the first day of class? 'The purpose of Grimm Studies is to know your enemy'. What purpose does knowing our enemies serve?" Weiss prodded, getting Ruby to think to see if her own reasoning was at all flawed before she proposed her idea.

"Well, if we know their strengths and weaknesses, we can make sure we have the upper hand in combat." Ruby responded, still confused. "But what are you getting at?"

"We'll study Beowolves." Weiss said. She held up her hand to indicate she wasn't finished and Ruby closed her already open mouth so Weiss could explain further. "All we can learn from books is theory. It doesn't mean it'll be useful, or even relevant when we fight them. I'm proposing we do our project half from research, and half from experience."

Ruby's eyes widened at Weiss's suggestion. "Are you suggesting…?"

Weiss smiled slightly at Ruby's wide eyed excitement. It had obviously been too long since she'd been allowed to kill the dark creatures with her beloved scythe. "Yes, Ruby. I'm suggesting we do what we came here for. We'll take video with our scrolls and make notes from them after. Then we'll combine it with what we read here and together it should be enough for the project. Also, we could get some decent screen-shots to help build the model for the presentation.

"That'll be a lot of work, you know." Ruby warned, her face scrunching as she thought quickly. "It'll mean we'll be busy almost every day from now until the end of January."

"I believe it's doable. We just need Ozpin's permission to go to the Emerald Forest. And I promised to help you, so I suppose we could do our other homework together from now on." Weiss said. She hadn't fully thought out the implications of her suggestion before speaking it. But she couldn't change the past, so here she was… stuck with Ruby for the next six weeks.

"I'll take care of Ozpin. You go order dust and get me a kilo of propulsive. I'm basically out." Ruby took a stack of books to the sorting cart and dropped them there before leaving.

Weiss sat there for several minutes before finally accepting her current situation that she'd unthinkingly created. She picked up the remaining books and dropped them onto the cart beside Ruby's before leaving to the armory.


	14. Chapter 14

"Come on, let's call it a day…" Ruby complained as she followed Weiss through the forest. "The sun set an hour ago!"

"We came for a Beowolf, and we're not leaving until we find one." Weiss stated, pushing aside a branch and holding it for Ruby to follow.

The two had gone straight to Ozpin's office after classes that day and were given permission to enter the forest. After that, nothing else went the way they'd planned. Ruby had found out that she was low on rounds for her weapon and Weiss had realized she'd forgotten to clean hers. Once they'd each done the maintenance, they set out to complete their hands on learning about how Beowolves fight.

The only problem was… there were none.

"I'm serious Weiss. We have other homework to do. We'll come back tomorrow and try again." Ruby argued, using her weapon to cut down another branch that was in her way. The dull thwack drawing a quick glance from Weiss.

"But we're so close! We have to find one soon." Weiss said. If they went back now they would have wasted several hours that could have been used for their studies, whereas if they found at least one creature they'd only have been unproductive. "Statistically speaking, we can't not find one soon!"

"Weiss, you know we shouldn't be out here at night." Ruby argued again. "Even Ozpin warned us that the Grimm come out in large numbers at night. Let's at least start to head back."

Weiss sighed. This seemed to be one of those times where Ruby just wouldn't give in. "Fine. We'll start back, but we're not leaving till we find at least one."

"Whatever, let's just go." Ruby turned around and led the way back.

As they neared the edge of the forest, Weiss felt like she was being watched. She looked out into the gloom to their left, squinting before she placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder to stop her. "There…"

Ruby took the flashlight off her belt and flashed it a few times in between the trees, giving them glimpses of nothing. Nevertheless, the shadows shifted as if alive or made of a light cloth blown by a weak breeze. Slowly, a growl became audible from the darkness and two bright red dots appeared floating in the space they'd looked at.

"Weiss, this might be bad." Ruby said, noting the lack of fighting room they had on the narrow path and the thick bush at their backs.

"Then let's do this quick." Weiss drew her rapier. The loud drag of the metal coming out of its sheath amplified in the silence of the forest.

Ruby drew her scythe and lit a flare at the same time to illuminate the immediate area. The monster in front of them was thrown into sharp contrast with the surrounding night as it drew itself up to its full height and let loose a terrifying howl. It stood almost twice the height of Ruby with its wild black fur tangled and torn from years of wandering. It's head was adorned by a large spiked skull that seemed to shift in the unsteady red light of the flare. The eyes emitting a light of their own as they unblinkingly tracked it's prey.

The creature's howl was answered by a chorus of howls in the nearby forest and Weiss glanced around, so far there was no sign of movement. But that wouldn't last long.

"Ruby, I've got support." Weiss said as she spun the dust cartridge on the hilt of her weapon. She fired the dust as she struck the ground in front of her, encasing their target in ice just as it lunged forward. The ice broke immediately, but tripped the massive creature, sending it into the bushes behind them.

Ruby quickly moved into a more favorable spot as Weiss ran away from the bush. Weiss tossed flares as she moved, widening their view range so the other enemies that were on the way wouldn't just suddenly appear.

The beowolf jumped out of the bush, bits of branch clinging in the thick mane as it roared and swung its sharp claws at Ruby. The young huntress swung her scythe up and deflected the swipe away from her body just as it followed up with a second attack. Ruby kept her scythe spinning, blocking the swing with the end of her weapon's shaft.

Weiss jumped forward, seeing the creature lunge for a bite with its equally dangerous fangs, her weapon sinking into the creature's neck before the creature lurched back with another roar.

This time, the sound echoed on all sides as the shadows surrounding the flares started shifting before more of the large black creatures jumped into the dim flickering light and charged at the two huntresses.

"You keep the big guy busy, I'll do crowd control!" Ruby ordered as she fired her weapon at the closest of the new arrivals.

These recently arrived Beowolves appeared much younger than the one they'd been battling. Their fur was much shorter and less tangled, and the white bone on their heads featured nothing but small bumps where there were spikes on their large brother. They were also at least thirty centimeters shorter than the large one attacking Weiss.

Ruby spun her weapon her hardest at the first enemy to come into her range, slicing it in half from shoulder to hip, the cut slightly slowing her spin before she fired a shot at another creature heading for Weiss. The creature howled angrily as its arm was nearly torn off by the large round ripping through muscle and shattering bone. It turned back to Ruby as she continued her spin while moving to the next target.

Weiss watched as her glyph shattered as the beast before her struck it with its sharp claws, literally appearing to rip five long tears through the middle before it shattered and disappeared into the night. Weiss felt the remaining momentum from the powerful strike hit her rapier and push her back a step. She ducked and rolled beneath the next swipe the creature took, landing her right between its legs.

She loaded a round of green dust into her chamber and struck the beast in the chest as hard as she could, the impact exponentially amplified by the dust, sending the creature flying into and through a nearby tree.

Ruby saw Weiss knock the large animal back as she dispatched yet another beowolf as it lunged at her. She fired three more rounds at the creatures surrounding her before launching herself into the air to avoid three of the Grimm that had broken through her defenses.

In the air she transformed her weapon into the smaller gun form and fired the rest of her clip at the enemies below her, ripping holes in their white bone covered heads and bodies, tearing them to bits as the black smoke of the quickly decomposing bodies floated over the nearest flare to plunge the area into darkness.

Ruby landed, her weapon back in scythe form as she used her instinct to swipe through the darkness. Howls of the creatures she disemboweled confirmed her strikes as she spun through the black smoke that was now engulfing the last of the flares, making the area darker than it would have been without the smoke and flares.

Suddenly, all was silent save the heavy breathing of Ruby and Weiss as they found themselves back to back on the path they'd started on. The darkness surrounding them was almost impenetrable with the exception of dim points of red light where the flares still burned, now on their last embers.

"Is it… over?" Ruby asked between breaths as she inspected the darkness surrounding them for any abnormal movement.

"I… I think so…" Weiss kept her rapier raised, looking into the darkness where she'd knocked the large beowolf. There were no signs of movement, but the silence unsettled her.

Suddenly, two red dots a meter to the side of where she'd been looking flashed through the smoke and darkness as the shadows shifted rapidly, curling around the massive body sprinting at them at the speed of a cannon shot.

"Ruby!" Weiss pulled the trigger on her weapon and hit the ground between her and Ruby, sending a geyser of dirt into the air as the explosive force sent them flying in opposite directions just as two sharp clawed paws landed where they'd been standing.

Ruby tumbled over the ground, her leg kicking a tree as she flew past. She didn't hear the crack but felt her shin break at the impact. She stopped rolling and sat up to see Weiss leaning against a tree, her weapon raised again at the mass of shifting shadow that menacingly moved towards her. Her white hair blotched dark with blood.

"Weiss!" Ruby tried to stand but fell as the pain of her leg blinded her with tears. It would be a few minutes before she had used her aura to heal it enough for her to walk, but that was far too late. She pulled the trigger on her weapon to hear a quiet click. She felt her waist for another clip, but found that the compartment on her belt had been ripped open.

_Damn it! _She thought as she willed her semblance to help her aura fix her leg. Ruby felt her leg burn painfully as the intensified energy fused bone back together at the impossibly fast speed. Even as the process started, she knew it would need to be fixed later since it wasn't aligned correctly. But that thought was secondary to the fact that there might not be a later if she didn't get back to the fight.

Weiss saw the creature in front of her leap forward with its claws tearing through the air. She summoned a glyph at an angle, barely deflecting the swipe as it once again tore through the semi-solid platform. She knew it would attack almost immediately, and turned to find it's other claw already swooping through the air at her crouched form.

She summoned a glyph and braced herself with her weapon. The creature's attack sliced through the glowing blue surface and hit her weapon, the recoil sending her back into the tree where her head smacked against a knot protruding from the massive trunk.

Stars swam before Weiss's eyes as she acted out of instinct, using the green dust that was still loaded in her weapon to knock the beast back. This time, the creature seemed ready for the attack and was simply knocked back a single step. It roared as it stepped forward with its back foot, stabbing the same arm forward like a javelin.

Weiss screamed as she pulled the trigger on her weapon for the second time and lunged forward to meet the beast half way.

Ruby watched as Weiss disappeared behind the large dark enemy, her scream the only thing remaining. Then, everything went still and silent.

The creature simply stood there, a small red dot appearing on it's back, glowing brighter and brighter as cracks raced away from the dot. They formed a small circle about the width of the creature's chest before the center emitted a small jet of flame and the creature fell to its side.

Ruby felt her bone was healed enough to get back to her feet and jumped up, limping while she ran over to her teammate.

Weiss was slumped against a tree, two large gashes in her side. One revealed a rib at the bottom of her ribcage and the other a mess of muscle that rapidly pumped blood onto the ground beside her.

"Weiss!" Ruby screamed, quickly pulling her cloak off and stuffing it into her teammate's wounds. She took their weapons and placed them on her back before picking up Weiss so she could use her own chest to keep the fabric plugging the wound. Not a second later, Weiss fell unconscious. Ruby ran faster than she'd ever ran before as she carried Weiss back to the Beacon medical wing. All the while hoping that it wouldn't be too late when she finally arrived.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:**

**Well, didn't mean to leave you on a cliff-hanger (I'm talking to you if you're one of the thirty-some people who read chapter 14), but I had to run to class. Here's chapter 15 with (hopefully) much more to come!**

* * *

There was a steady beeping and hiss coming from somewhere. Weiss could sense various tubes plugged into her arms and one that ran down her throat. A small clip on her finger was pressing in with a small spike that was slightly unpleasant, but she couldn't seem to move enough to do anything about it. Her body felt like a lead brick as she forced her eyes open.

A white ceiling with fluorescent lights greeted her, telling her she could be anywhere that was indoors. She looked around, trying to see anything out of her peripherals, but all she could see was a large red bag hanging on a stand beside a machine with a digital screen that seemed like gibberish was scrolling across it.

She finally worked up the strength to pull her head to the side. She found herself looking at a rather disheveled and sleeping Ruby sitting in a chair next to the machine that kept beeping.

"Ruby." Weiss tried to talk, but her voice was dry and came out as barely the ghost of a whisper. The tube in her throat didn't help much and she felt as if she was about to puke.

The beeping machine stuttered slightly as she regained her composure. She remained like that for a long time, not having the strength nor the will to look away from her teammate.

The sun appeared behind the blinds, creating a white dot on the dark canvas. Weiss watched as it slowly sunk down the window, falling behind Ruby's head and illuminating her as if she were some divine being in an opera.

A noise interrupted her thoughts as the door clicked quietly open and closed. A slight pause in the footsteps indicated a hesitation before a woman in a white lab coat stepped into view.

"Hello, can you hear me?" The woman asked quietly. "Blink for yes."

Weiss blinked. She smiled and scribbled on a board she was holding.

"Well, you're very lucky to be alive. We currently have you hooked up to an artificial respiratory system that was needed during surgery. We should be removing it tomorrow morning. Until then, I'd like you to rest as much as possible. I'll be giving you a dose of sleeping medicine, alright?"

Weiss realized what the doctor was saying, but that was when she remembered what had happened.

"R-Ruby." She whispered out, fighting the urge to vomit once again as the tube rubbed awkwardly around her throat.

"Oh, right." The doctor put down the syringe she was about to inject into a fitting in Weiss's wrist and moved over to wake the sleeping girl. "Miss Rose, your teammate is awake."

"Huh?" Ruby rubbed her eyes as she slowly woke up. "Weiss…"

Ruby's eyes snapped open quickly and looked over at Weiss with tears ready to fall. "Weiss! You're alive!"

"Please keep it down, Miss Schnee still needs rest. I will be giving her something to sleep till tomorrow when the life support technicians come to remove the systems. She won't be able to talk until then." The nurse explained quickly.

Ruby nodded and sat back in her chair as she watched the doctor finish her work, pushing the plunger down into the tube and sending the chemical into Weiss's veins. The doctor left as Ruby kept watching Weiss.

"I was really scared, Weiss." Ruby said as the tears in her eyes finally leaked forth. "I thought you were going to die."

Weiss couldn't respond even if she wanted to with the tube running so uncomfortably down her throat.

"I'm so happy you're okay." Ruby smiled as she wiped some of the tears from her cheeks. "I'm going to go let the rest of our team know you're okay. I'll be back soon."

Ruby jumped up and left without a second of hesitation. Weiss couldn't understand why she didn't just wait for her to fall asleep, but she supposed it didn't matter.

Weiss felt her eye lids start to fall and she fell into a dreamless sleep. Ruby still hadn't returned by the time she finally gave in to the medication and closed her eyes.

* * *

**End Note:**

**Thanks for reading, and I have a little announcement that may be of interest to some of you:**

**I post updates on my profile every now and then (trying to do at least a monthly thing) where I give information about my series and the occasional fun fact. This time I also started a sort of contest-of-sorts so if you're interested, check it out. I'll update my profile with a winner when one is determined. Best of luck to those who decide to enter!**

**EDIT: Also for those of you who need another hint for the contest, check my profile.**


	16. Chapter 16

"Weiss? How do you feel?" The doctor asked as Weiss rubbed her throat gently. She'd just had the long tube pulled out of her throat and she felt a little strange. But that was probably just her body that had gotten used to the invading item. In addition, she had been taken off her medication since the tests had told the doctor that her aura would be sufficient to fix whatever damage remained.

"A little strange from the tube, but otherwise absolutely fine." Weiss tried to sit up from her mattress, but was stopped by the doctor's hand on her shoulder.

"Your wounds aren't fully healed. It'll take about a day or two for your aura to finish its work. Until then, do not use your abdominal muscles and avoid any unnecessary twisting." She instructed, reaching behind Weiss to pull her up with a hand on her upper and another on her lower back.

"Don't worry, Weiss! I'll help you when you need it." Ruby piped up from her chair. For whatever reason, she hadn't been asked to leave. Or at least not while Weiss was awake.

"I'll be fine." Weiss said, eyeing her teammate suspiciously. She didn't trust Ruby to be very gentle, especially if her sister was any example.

"Very well, I'll go draw up your release papers and arrange for a taxi to take you both back to Beacon." The doctor left the room with her clipboard and a smile on her face.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked, a fact suddenly dawning on her.

"Yeah?" Ruby asked, hearing Weiss's unimpressed tone.

"When exactly were you planning on telling me we weren't in Beacon's Infirmary?" Weiss asked, trying to keep her voice straight.

"Well, um…" Ruby hesitated. She didn't want to make Weiss mad, but she didn't even know why she was being so serious about the insignificant fact. "I thought you knew?"

Weiss sighed and started to get up. Typical Ruby, overlooking the simplest of facts.

"I dislike hospitals." Weiss confided as she gathered her scroll and picked up her clothing. "Now I'd like to get dressed. Could you step out?"

"You're not allowed to use your muscles or twist, remember?" Ruby reminded her partner. "I'll have to help you dress so you don't pop your stitches open."

Weiss watched Ruby's smile. Even she saw the dark humour behind it that was paining Ruby. Weiss let out another sigh. Things were going to be interesting for the next few days.

"Really Ruby, I'm not a quadriplegic. I can change myself." She held up her hand as Ruby started to protest. "Or at least let me change my own underwear."

Ruby blushed and looked at the ground, kicking it like a scolded child.

"But that's the same bending that putting your skirt on would be…" Ruby noted. Weiss had to admit Ruby was pretty quick on the uptake at the worst times. "I promise I'll close my eyes and won't look if that makes you more comfortable."

"God, Ruby!" Weiss didn't even have anything to say to the girl. There wasn't a single thing she could say that would make the young girl leave and she knew it. Ruby's stubbornness was legendary. Especially considering she'd outdone Weiss on many occasions.

Weiss defeatedly thought over her proposal. It wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other in the change room, but this was just different enough to feel awkward. Except as she thought about it, the word awkward wasnt entirely accurate. Odd, or wrong, or possibly even intimate could have fit better.

Despite the fact that it went against every logical thought in her head, Weiss took a deep breath and looked Ruby in the eyes.

"You promise to keep your eyes shut and do exactly as I instruct you?" Weiss recieved a nod from Ruby. "If you're lying, I will kill you and then instruct the doctors to bring you back just so I can kill you again. Understand?"

"Whatever, I promise I won't look okay?" Ruby reached out and snatched Weiss's underwear from her. "Now lets just get this over with."

Ruby kneeled down on the floor in front of Weiss who was watching her face intently. She closed her eyes completely and held the pair of underwear so Weiss could simply slide her feet through.

It was the most embarassing thing she'd ever done in her memorable life, but Weiss knew there was no real choice in the matter. Ruby finally pulled them up, keeping her eyes closed the entire time.

Weiss shivered slightly at the tips of Ruby's knuckles dragging up her leg and snatched the clothing away as soon as it was withing arms reach.

"You're done. Now get up but keep your eyes shut." Weiss said, turning her back to Ruby as she took off the hospital gown and replaced it with her bra. She didn't know if Ruby was still keeping her eyes shut, but supposed it didn't matter at this point. All she'd see was her back. "Open your eyes and do up my bra."

Ruby's small warm hands grazed Weiss's back sending a mild shiver up her spine as Ruby cliped the two ends of the fabric together. Weiss slid her shirt onto her arms and Ruby helped pull it over her head and pull her hair out from underneath. Weiss quickly handed Ruby her sweats and waited as Ruby bunched them up so she could slide her feet through.

Weiss adjusted her sweats and managed to get her jacket on without help. Weiss sat down on the bed facing Ruby who seemed to be off in her own world and was blushing a bit.

"I suppose your help wasn't unnecessary." Weiss said, bringing Ruby's head snapping around.

The door opened and a nurse walked in. He handed Weiss the release papers and left without a word. Ruby seemed deflated as they walked out of the hospital together.

The ride back to Beacon was just as quiet with Weiss silently struggling to say something to her partner. She had meant what she'd said, but the way she'd said it made it sound more insulting than grateful.

The two girls got out of the cab and walked across the front lawn in the direction of the dorms. Nobody seemed to be outside, which was completely fine with Weiss. It just made conversation easier since it was just her and Ruby.

"I didn't mean what I said back there…" Weiss started, feeling a sudden flow of words race to her mouth. "It's just that I was embarrassed and I didn't want you to think I liked it, but it was helpful. And I am thankful that you care enough to do anything for me at all, and I'll make up for being such a bother. I promise."

Out of words, she watched Ruby look at her. Her silver eyes smiled even though Ruby's face stayed in it's neutral position, halfway between frown and smile.

"I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time." She commented, her smile finally breaking onto her lips. "And I think I've known you long enough to understand what you meant. I'm not saying it didn't hurt a little when you said it, just that I understood."

"I'm sorry. I really am thankful to you." Weiss appologized again.

"It's okay, I'm honestly still amazed you're even alive right now and I'd take an insult from alive Weiss over nothing from a dead one any day." Ruby joked darkly as she opened the door to the dorms and let Weiss go in first.

"Oh…" Weiss didn't really know what to respond with after a death joke, so she changed the subject. "Anyway, what day is it? Friday?"

"Sunday, why?" Ruby asked, opening the door to their empty dorm room.

"It's only two…" Weiss thought to herself quickly as she turned and walked out the door Ruby was still holding open.

"Where are you going?" Ruby asked in alarm, racing out to follow Weiss again.

"We need dresses for the party. And that means we'll need to find one we each like." Weiss said as she retraced her steps back to the front of beacon as she called a taxi service.

"The doctor said you should rest." Ruby reminded Weiss. "Forget the dresses."

"I'll rest afterwards. They need at least two days to get them shipped in, and we're already cutting it close as it is." Weiss explained.

"Is it really that important?" Ruby asked and Weiss's glare answered her question perfectly. "Fine, but I'm not undressing and redressing you for every other dress."

"I didn't ask you to. I already picked my dress anyway. I just need to order it. We're mainly going for your sake." Weiss informed Ruby as the taxi driver pulled up and she carefully sat in the back seat.

"Thanks as always for the vote of confidence." Ruby responded sarcastically as they started their trip back to the city they'd just left.


	17. Chapter 17

"Weiss… what is this place?" Ruby was looking at the window just outside the store that was in what appeared at first glance to be an extremely small house.

"Don't let the look fool you. The appearance is for security." Weiss opened the door and led Ruby in. Weiss walked down the hall and stepped onto the stairs directly in front of her.

Ruby watched Weiss slowly descend as the stairs started moving. Ruby quickly jumped on the step behind Weiss and waited as they moved in a slow descent. The stairs spiraled several times before the end appeared, a white hole in the otherwise dark staircase.

"No way!" Ruby stepped off the stairs and looked out from a balcony suspended over a warehouse filled with dresses of every imaginable color and style. Weiss was already conversing with a man at a desk to the side and Ruby turned back to the dresses. Looking closer, she noticed they were being handled by robots that would zoom down the isles and pick a dress off one of the thousands of racks before zipping back below the balcony.

"Ruby! Come here!" Ruby jumped at Weiss's order and raced to her side. "I'm finished. Now we're going to find you a dress."

"If you will please step this way." The man behind the counter said as he exited the employee area and walked down the balcony. "You can try on dresses here."

He waved his hand at a large looking stall and walked away. Ruby was now confused as to what was happening. Normally they had to give you a dress to try on before you could actually do anything.

"Don't just stand there. Come on." Weiss was already pushing the door open and moving to sit on a chair.

Ruby followed to find a room large enough for a single chair and two people to stand at arms length. She looked around and found a mirror directly opposite the chair.

Weiss sighed, realizing that this was Ruby's first time in an Atlas style dress shop. She closed the door and locked it before taking the chair.

"Welcome to Universal Dress, Vale. My name is Carmon. Please remove your clothing and stand in the center of the room." A cool female voice said from the speakers of the room as the air turned warmer.

"Wha…?" Ruby looked around for the source but found none.

"It's an AI, Ruby. Just follow the instructions." Ruby nodded, trusting her teammate and started to strip her cloak and other clothes that she gave Weiss to hold. She was about to reach for her underwear when she paused, looking at Weiss who picked up on the unspoken question in her peripheral vision. "Leave them on. The sensors aren't that advanced."

Ruby nodded and moved back to the center of the room where the voice continued its instruction. "Please hold your arms directly out to your sides and spread your feet shoulder width apart while I complete a scan of your body."

Ruby shivered slightly and felt a warm breeze envelop her. She was confused at the strange temperature and looked over at Weiss who seemed to be redder than normal.

"Is the heat on in here?" Ruby asked out of curiosity as Weiss kept her eyes on the floor as they had been the entire time Ruby'd undressed.

"Yes, it's to make this easier since some people end up in here for several hours at a time." Weiss explained, waiting for the scan to finish. Eventually a chime went off and Weiss looked up.

"Scan complete. Please evaluate the suggested dress."

"Um…" Ruby didn't know what to do so she looked at Weiss.

Weiss inspected the solidly projected dress it'd placed on Ruby with a smirk. It was a childs dress that was bright pink with frills like the princesses in movies wore. "It fits."

"Come on, that's not funny!" Ruby complained moving her arms back to her sides, the dress moving with her arms so she could see it in the mirror.

"Right size, Carmon. Wrong age." Weiss chuckled to the room.

"My mistake. Which age and/or event would you like to look for?" Carmon asked in response to Weiss.

"I was thinking general purpose, new years. And between sixteen and eighteen." Weiss responded with the same options she'd used to find her dress. There were many more dresses there that would be suitable for the occasion.

"Calculating best dress…" Carmon was silent for a moment before Ruby's body flashed into a completely different dress. "Current dress style: 05864352. Suggested age: 18. Suggested events: New Years Party."

"I think it looks… okay?" Ruby asked Weiss who was once again looking away.

"A bit revealing, isn't it?" She responded with her own question. "Yang I could understand, but I don't think it suits you."

"I guess you're right." Ruby nodded. "Um, Carmon? Maybe one a bit more conservative?"

The room flashed again, this time Ruby was wearing some interestingly patterned piece of fabric that went from the top of her neck all the way down to the floor.

"Weiss? A little help?" Ruby looked at Weiss who was having a desperate attempt to keep her laughter in.

"Sorry… that's too f-funny!" Weiss burst into giggles as Ruby took in the dress in the mirror. It was really one of the most amazing blunders the system had ever made in Weiss's opinion, and she couldn't help laughing at the odd and horrible dress.

"Carmon I wan't something that won't make everyone around me laugh!" Ruby shouted above Weiss's laughing and the dress's description.

"Current dress style: 48633432, Suggested age: 18. Suggested events: New Years Party. Suggested color: Red." Carmon announced after another flash.

Weiss heard the number and her giggles disappeared. _This can't be… but it is!_

Weiss watched as Ruby turned and inspected herself in the dark red dress. It had a meshy looking piece that went over her shoulders and down her back that seemed to hold up the actual fabric. The front was split in two, held together with the mesh and what looked strikingly similar to Ruby's corset elastics. A large black sash with an equally sized bow rested around her waist and the skirt had a small black stripe lining the bottom to accent its edge.

Weiss stared in awe at the projection as Ruby turned back and forth, looking at the dress from different angles and watching the realistic projection follow her movements and sway as if it were the real thing.

"Weiss? How does it look?" Ruby asked turning to Weiss.

"I… I mean its… its nice." Weiss said with difficulty, trying to get past her own speech barrier to tell Ruby her real opinion.

"Well, I like it, but I guess I could try on more. Are there any other ones sort of like this one?" Ruby asked the room as she looked back to the mirror, admiring the dress one last time before it would disappear.

"Would you like to see the companion dress?" Carmon asked after a few seconds of processing Ruby's dialogue.

"NO!" Weiss almost shouted making Ruby spin back to face her partner. "I… we'll take that one Carmon."

"Current dress added to your order. Would you like to continue shopping for a third dress?" Carmon asked.

"Wait. I thought you didn't like this one?" Ruby asked Weiss, confused with her sudden reaction.

"Order cancelled. Would you like to continue on to the next dress?" Carmon spoke again over the speaker in the ceiling.

"Don't cancel the order!" Weiss ordered quickly. "And its not that I didn't like it. I said it was nice. So put it back in the cart Carmon!"

"Dress added." Carmon said in her monotonous voice.

"No. Dont add it!" Ruby responded. "If you really liked it, you would say something like 'Oh Ruby, you look great in that!' or 'That dress looks amazing!' I probably can't afford it anyway!"

"Dress-" Carmon started just to be cut off.

"Oh, so you think I'd just let you get some rag that you don't like because you can afford it? Add it to the cart! The dress is on me." Weiss said, her voice trailing off to a whisper and her head dropping to the floor before snapping back up to look at Ruby. Her eyes blazing with her signature icy gaze. "And how could I ever call anything you wear anything other than nice when you're so beautiful you can make almost anything look good?!"

Weiss continued to stare at Ruby as what she just said started to sink in.

"W-what did you just say?" Ruby asked quietly.

"W-w-what?" Weiss's eyes were already wide with shock and fear as she realized she'd actually said what she'd been thinking out loud.

"You said…" Ruby breathed into the silent room, her voice cracking and failing.

"Dress added." Carmon interjected in the silence between the two girls.

"Forget what I said." Weiss said in a slightly shaky voice before holding out Ruby's clothes for her. "We're done here Carmon. Get the order ready. We'll need them by Wednesday."

Ruby silently dressed while Weiss kept her gaze averted. The second she closed the clasp on her cape, Weiss had the door unlocked and was out walking down the balcony to the front desk. Ruby followed slowly, giving Weiss some room as she thought over the entire conversation.

"Remnant to Ruby? Dunce, do you copy?" Weiss waved her hand in front of Ruby's face as she snapped back to reality. "We're done here. Let's go."

Ruby followed Weiss back up the stairs and out of the building. Without a word exchanged between them, Weiss hailed a cab to take them back to Beacon.


	18. Chapter 18

Weiss allowed Ruby to help her into bed once they returned from the excursion, being more exhausted than she'd let on from the sudden activity and her still healing wounds. She rolled to her side so she wouldn't have to face the rest of the room and fell asleep almost imediately.

She woke far too early the next day, the sun had not yet even started to brighten the thick curtains that kept the room pitch black. There were no sounds in the room beside the long calm breaths of her team. Ruby's bunk remained suspended and swaying slightly back and forth as it always was, the ropes taut across the bottom where they meshed together to add extra support to the rig.

For the first time in memory, Weiss saw Yang sleeping normally in her own bed instead of hanging off the edge in spectacular fashion. Blake was curled into her usual ball and seemed to have dropped her book part way through the night as it lay open on the ground beside her bed.

Weiss sighed, cursing her wound that she could feel itching under its wrappings for her inability to function on her own. She remained still as per Ruby's request that she get help if she needed it. With nothing else to do, she called back her most enjoyable memories, letting them lead her into a daze as she remained laying in her bed. She couldn't help but let a small smile grace her lips as she thought back over the time she'd spent at Beacon so far.

She hadn't even gone eight meters from the landing pad of the airship she'd stepped out of when the little ball of crazy currently sleeping above her hit her luggage like a wrecking ball. She'd been so terribly frustrated and nervous, she'd almost ripped her head off. Figuratively of course. Then, when she thought things were getting better since Blake knew who she was, she found out that Blake didn't like her family's company one bit. Though it did make a lot more sense when she'd found out Blake had been part of the White fang.

But out of everyone, Yang was the only one who's initial impression was accurate. She'd dragged Ruby over to Blake on their first night at Beacon, trying to get them to be friends. She hadn't changed since. She was always overprotective of Ruby, but as of the past few weeks seemed to be relaxing when it came to Ruby going off without her.

Through her musing, Weiss remembered what she'd accidentally said to Ruby the previous day and mentally kicked herself. What did she mean when she told Ruby that? It was obviously to convince her to get the dress, but it somehow sounded more like a confession of love to Weiss. Though she wouldn't know anything about that other than the books she'd read which were mainly classics that didn't mimick real life in the slightest.

She didn't mean what she'd said, at least not in the context she was considering. But maybe that was the type of thing girls told each other when they were shopping. Probably not though. _It's times like these I wish I'd had a friend growing up so I'd actually know._

She forced herself to move on in her thoughts. No use dwelling on the past, nothing would change it now anyway. She thought of her study sessions with Ruby. Her ability to absorb the material had astounded Weiss, but then again since she needed to do three times the work it made sense that she'd have to be smart if she was going to survive the year's exams.

_And what was she talking about when I was sick? She said something like I didn't have to be 'alone' anymore. How would she even know that I've been on my own since day one? That I've never been a priority to anyone, even my own parents? I haven't told anyone about that…_


	19. Chapter 19

"Weiss, wake up! Please!" Ruby shook Weiss gently as Weiss's eyes slowly opened to focus on her teammate. It was still dark, but the lack of light was more due to the heavy curtains than the time of day. The ambient red light that filtered through the heavy fabric cast everything into dark shadows but Ruby's face was clearly visible from the foot of space between her and Weiss, and she was clearly crying.

"What is it Ruby?" Weiss shifted to sit up then remembered her injury. She stopped and simply looked at the girl hovering above her.

"God, it was just a dream!" Ruby gasped in relief, her voice barely a whisper as a fresh flood of water dripped down her face as she collapsed to press her face to Weiss's mattress. "I was so scared…"

"Calm down. There's nothing to be scared about." Weiss whispered, reaching out so her hand hovered over Ruby's head. She didn't know what had prompted her action and carefully withdrew before Ruby noticed anything.

"But-"

"I don't know what your nightmare was about, but I assure you it can't hurt you here." Weiss stated. She'd had to think the same things to herself her whole childhood, it felt nice to actually be able to tell someone what had taken her months of terror to figure out.

"You're wrong…" Ruby hiccuped as she shook the bed with a new round of sobbing.

"If you're going to pour your tears into my mattress, at least tell me what made you like this." Weiss sighed impatiently. "I see no reason why you should be so upset over a dream."

Ruby remained silent as her sobs slowly subsided. For a long while the air was still with nothing but the snores of their teammates and Ruby's slow deep breathing that Weiss recognized as a sniper's concentration.

"It was horrible…" Ruby breathed almost inaudibly. "I dreamed about the other day."

"I see…" Weiss had no idea which day she was talking about, but she decided to just let her teammate vent. _That can't do any harm, right?_

"There was so much… so much blood…. It just didn't stop… oh, god!" Ruby broke down again into sobs, but she didn't stop talking even though Weiss could barely understand her through her sobs. "There was… just so… much! I… I was s-soaked! And… it w-w-wouldn't stop!"

"Hey… hey, Ruby…" Weiss spoke quietly, confident her voice wouldn't wake the others in the room and help get Ruby's attention. She'd had a sudden stroke of intuition on what Ruby's dream had been about and why it was her she'd come to.

"Hmm?" Ruby looked up startled by Weiss's interruption. She wiped tears from her face with her palms, before wiping them on her lap.

"You dreamt about when we fought that beowolf, correct?" Weiss asked to find Ruby nod while wiping the everflowing tears from her face. "Then you shouldn't cry. It might have been scary, but it's over."

"But I-" Ruby started, but Weiss silenced her with a gentle shush.

"You're not listening. The past can't hurt us, Ruby. It is simply a collection of things that have happened." Weiss said carefully. Dealing with real nightmares was much more difficult than fictional ones. "I got hurt and you saved me. Now here we are with you crying about how much blood I lost but have since gained back. Your dream may have felt scary, but it could have turned out much, much worse."

"But I dreamed I lost you! I wasn't fast enough, no matter how fast I ran your blood kept pouring out faster!" Ruby wailed in despair, cupping her eyes in her hands.

"Ruby, help me sit up. I can't stay lying here." Weiss commanded making Ruby jump and help pull her into a sitting position. Weiss turned and swung her legs out of the bed and placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders so she wouldn't turn away. "Ruby, you are the fastest person I know, and I am aquainted with several famous athletes. And thanks to your speed, I'm alive right now."

"Weiss… I-" Ruby started but once again Weiss shushed her.

"Ruby, I promise that I do not intend to reenact the disasterous events of that night. But I do not regret what happened. We gained invaluable information on those creatures that we could never learn from any book. And above all, we both survived to learn from our experience." Weiss said calmly, though she wasn't completely convinced of every part of the statement she'd made.

Ruby nodded slowly, still wiping tears from her eyes. "C-can I… never mind…"

"What is it?" Weiss asked cautiously.

"I… can you, um… hug me?" Ruby asked equally as cautious considering Weiss's usual disposition.

Weiss hesitated, knowing little good would come from letting Ruby do as she pleased. _But maybe… just this once… it might feel nice to… take part in what she wished she'd had during her childhood…_

Weiss moved her arms around Ruby's head, drawing her into her chest and letting her chin rest gently atop the younger girl. Ruby's shaking body slowed as Weiss felt her gown grow damp from absorbing Ruby's tears. After several moments, Weiss let go and Ruby stepped back.

"Thanks…" She said before she yawned. "Sorry I woke you."

"It was unavoidable." Weiss replied, moving to pick up a change of clothes. "And you're very welcome."

Weiss disappeared into the washroom for a long time. By the time she exited, she'd dressed and the opposite half of the room had woken up.

"Took you long enough!" Yang complained, rushing past Weiss into the washroom and slamming the door. Weiss noticed the covers on top of Ruby's bed flinch at the loud noise and sighed as she pulled the curtains closed.

Blake cocked her head to the side out of curiosity of Weiss's actions. Weiss sat back on her bed before glancing to find Blake still looking at her questioningly.

"She didn't have the best of nights." Weiss explained finally turning to her scroll to find out what work she should be doing that day.

"I know. I was awake." Blake said, making Weiss's face take on a shade of red. "That was sweet of you."

"Shut it." Weiss snapped, turning her scroll off and walking to the door. "Just tell Yang when she comes back out."

Blake smiled at her teammate and nodded before the heiress walked away.


	20. Chapter 20

"WEISS?" A voice yelled loudly from what sounded like very far away. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

Weiss sighed and stopped her training by obliterating the practice dummy in front of her with a blast of ice and a hard hit. She turned back to where she heard the yelling and opened the door of the room she was in to look down the hall.

Ruby was yelling with Yang and Blake in tow. Yang was checking the windows on her side and Blake was reading a book but that didn't mean much. She seemed to be an execellent multi-tasker.

"I'm over here! Now stop your yelling!" Weiss said slightly louder than her speaking volume to get her voice to travel down the hallway.

"FOUND HER!" Ruby exclaimed pulling at Yang's arm for a second before she let go as Yang stumbled to keep her ballance. She jogged over to Weiss quickly and almost impaled herself on Weiss's rapier that the heiress still gripped. Weiss barely moved her hand in time to avoid injuring her team leader.

"Ruby! Watch where you're going! You almost killed yourself!" Weiss snapped as she walked back into the training room to grab her water bottle.

"But you moved!" Ruby argued in her usual playful manner. "And that's also a problem! Why are you practicing when you're not supposed to be using your muscles?"

"I'm fine." Weiss answered shortly. "I don't need to waste my time on recovery, and I wasn't practicing all that hard to begin with."

"Weiss. You should listen to the doctors." Yang said as she and Blake arrived at the door. Weiss ignored her and walked to the locker that stood at the back of the room. She replaced her weapon in it and sent it back to its original place so the next person to use the room could summon their own locker.

"I haven't eaten yet. Care to join me?" Weiss asked before taking a long draught from her bottle.

"Blake and I ate already. Ruby woke up a while ago and freaked when you'd disappeared." Yang said with a smile while looking back at Blake.

"Points for propper grammar. You lost them when you said 'freaked'." Blake responded calmly. "Keep trying."

"What's that about?" Weiss asked, confused at her teammate's behavior.

"Oh, Blake made Yang a bet that she couldn't rack up ten propper grammar uses before the end of the day but it only counts for when it's something she'd mess up on." Ruby explained.

"Whatever. Are you coming then?" Weiss asked already heading for the door.

"Oh, um, uh…" Ruby stuttered, her silver eyes glancing past Weiss at her sister.

"Yeah, she's going." Yang said impatiently. She let Weiss pass and grabbed Ruby's shoulder and whispered as she tried to pass. "Just forget about it, okay?"

Weiss didn't make any indication she'd heard and kept walking, waiting until the caped girl caught up to her side.

"You do know that you don't have to ask your sister to eat, right?" Weiss said sarcastically as she led the way down the hall.

"Um, that… sorry." Ruby mumbled quietly.

"And what is up with that, you're never that quiet. Ever. Are you still feeling down about last night?" Weiss asked, a sliver of concern edging its way into her voice.

"Um… well… probably not?" Ruby said, her statement sounding like a question.

"Just forget the whole thing. Okay?" Weiss recieved an inaudible mumble and a version of a nod from Ruby. "Great. Then lets go eat. Do you mind if we go out?"

"Out where?" Ruby asked.

Weiss smiled at herself for getting Ruby talking normally again. "I was thinking of a nice place in Vale."

Ruby hesitated. "Is it the wear clothes kind?"

"Don't be stupid." Weiss snapped. She was more irritated by Ruby's unfortunate, unintended wording than anything else. "But no, it's not a place like you're thinking."

"Okay then, lets go!" Ruby responded, leading the way down the hall.

Weiss smiled frustratedly at the young girl's back. No matter how hard she tried, she seemed to be constantly stuck with Ruby. Her mind wandered momentarily, bringing up her own question: _Would being constantly beside Ruby really be such a bad thing?_

She shook herself mentally and sighed. _No, it's so far beyond a bad thing I can't find the words to say. And I better stop thinking like this soon. Otherwise I might put her in danger._

Weiss walked up beside Ruby again and continued on into town. _For now at least, it might not be that terrible._


	21. Chapter 21

"Where are you going?" Weiss asked, waiting beside the door to the restaurant.

"Huh?" Ruby spun on her heel to backtrack to where her partner was waiting. "Is this the place?"

"Yes, now go inside. I just have to run across the street quick. Order whatever you want." Weiss said before leaving her teammate to get the pizza ordered.

Weiss looked back at Ruby when she was across the street and sighed to herself. "Hey, Dunce!" She yelled, getting Ruby's attention. "Get going!"

Ruby jumped and ran into the door frame as she tried to cover the fact she'd been carefully watching Weiss even though there was only light traffic around. She held her head for a second before continuing through the doors.

Weiss sighed at Ruby's clumsiness and the irony that she could wield a dangerous weapon like the scythe with deadly precision. She turned and walked into the store behind her and picked up the slim box containing the items she'd bought earlier that day on her scroll. She slipped the box into a pocket of her jacket and left to rejoin Ruby.

"Didn't get a table yet?" Weiss asked as she walked into the front door of the pizza place. "I didn't think it would be that busy."

"We're second in line. They said they just need to clean up." Ruby said from her seat on a bench that lined one side of the entrance. On the other was a faunus family with a little boy about three or four years of age.

A worker arrived at the podium and saw Weiss standing beside Ruby. "Oh! Miss Schnee! Come right this way!" The girl bowed nervously and missed Weiss's frown.

"I believe my teammate and I were second in line." Weiss replied coolly. The one thing she hated more than people ignoring her completely were people who gave her special treatment because of her family name.

"Oh, it's no trouble!" The girl kept her bow and waited for Weiss to start following.

"I'm hungry!" The little boy chose now to complain to his parents who seemed more than slightly intimidated by the heiress and shushed their son.

"I will wait in line like everyone else." Weiss said to the worker before taking a seat beside Ruby.

"But-"

"'Puts priority on wealthy clientele' isn't exactly a winning review, is it?" Weiss said to make her threat perfectly clear.

"Of course, my apologies." The girl stood up, her face red with embarrassment as she turned to the family on the other bench. "Please follow me to your table, and I apologize for any misunderstandings."

"To quote your sister, 'that was a thing.'" Weiss sighed, relaxing into the bench beside Ruby. When she didn't respond, Weiss looked over at her. She was smiling but seemed to be trying to hide it. "What's up?"

"Uh? Oh, nothing much." Ruby responded, looking away. After a moment, she continued. "That was a really nice thing you did."

"Oh. I suppose." Weiss said quietly in response. For whatever reason, Ruby's compliments always threw her for a loop because she was never expecting them.

"Most people would expect someone like you to be a bit more selfish, but it's nice that you prove them wrong." Ruby continued, still facing away.

"'Someone like me'…" Weiss sighed. "That's how it always is. I honestly hate it."

Ruby remained silent until the waitress returned. "I can take you to your table now."

Ruby jumped up and Weiss followed, exchanging polite words with the waitress who seemed to be desperately trying to recover from the argument at the doors.

"Are we ordering together or individuals?" Weiss asked Ruby as she scanned over the menu.

"If I may interject, we also offer to make half a pizza one type and the other half a second type. It's less expensive than ordering individual pizzas, but slightly more so than a normal pizza." The waitress explained turning Weiss's menu over to show the option that was printed on the very back of the plastic booklet.

"In that case, what pizza do you want?" Weiss asked Ruby.

"I sort of want the um… Meatza, I think?" Ruby replied uncertainly as she pointed out the entry to Weiss. It was the type of pizza that all places had that seemed to use every type of meat and spice at the establishment's disposal.

"Would you be against me adding a few toppings?" Weiss asked, thinking it couldn't possibly be healthy to get a meat and cheese pizza.

"Sure. Yang always gets jalapenos and I always have to pick them off." Ruby said with a shrug.

"Alright. We'll have the pizza she said, with green peppers, tomato, and a small amount of pineapple." Weiss told the waitress who scribbled everything down on a notepad.

"And to drink?" She asked, looking up from the notepad.

"I'll have sprite." Weiss answered immediately.

"Orange over here." Ruby chimed in.

"Alright. I'll go get your drinks and your pizza will be along in about half an hour." The waitress walked away.

As soon as the waitress returned with their drinks, Ruby took a sip before starting to talk to Weiss about nothing really interesting. She switched topics from school to the dance happening the next evening to her weapon and how it worked quick enough that in hindsight, Weiss felt that Ruby'd been explaining an assignment that required her to dance while rebuilding her scythe's transformation mechanism.

The pizza arrived with Ruby still babbling and Weiss felt oddly calm as if Ruby's excited talking was completely normal. Weiss glanced around the room while waiting for the food to cool slightly to find herself seated at one of a very few tables that were large enough for only two people. At the others, couples that were obviously dating sat eating and laughing. The larger tables were mostly empty but a few were taken by families such as the one they'd seen in the entrance.

_She didn't _ask_ for a small table… did she?_ Weiss asked herself as she looked back at Ruby's smiling face that was now smudged with a little bit of pizza sauce since she'd taken a bite of the pizza already. _Why would they make us wait so they could put us at this small table when the large ones are all clean and unoccupied?_

"-ith me? …Weiss? Hello?" Ruby's voice pierced through Weiss's thoughts, bringing the heiress back to reality.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What were you saying?" Weiss asked, her embarrassment at her lack of attention making its way up with a slight blush.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head. "I was asking if you like the pizza."

Weiss noticed a small blush appear on Ruby's face as well, but shrugged it off as just another effect of talking so much. Weiss took a bite of the pizza and almost choked initially. The several layers of meat with vegetables on top made for a somewhat grotesque creation that was leaking grease now that her teeth had broken the seal of cheese that had kept it in.

Weiss swallowed forcibly as the spice kicked in and set her mouth on fire. Ruby laughed as she passed Weiss a napkin which she wiped the grease from her face with. Weiss carefully reached for her drink and downed half of it before returning it to the table.

"How can you eat that? It's terrible!" Weiss wished she'd taken the waitress up on the half and half pizza now that she knew what Ruby was eating.

Ruby just laughed at her teammate as she took another bite of her slice and swallowed without flinching. "Honestly? You want to know my secret?"

Weiss debated with herself for a minute. There was no way Ruby could eat that. She'd already proven that she couldn't handle anything remotely spicy from when Yang had laced everyone's food with cayan pepper. She nodded.

"Come closer…" Ruby leaned over the table and Weiss hesitantly followed her example. Once Ruby had her mouth positioned just beside her ear, Weiss held her breath while she listened. "The secret… is… losing your virginity."

"What?!" Weiss jumped away from Ruby and almost tipped her chair over as she landed in it. Several people looked their way before returning to what they were doing. Ruby was also now back in her chair, holding her stomach from laughing so hard as Weiss felt her face flush in anger. "That isn't funny, Ruby!"

"Yes… it is…" Ruby gasped, trying to fight the laughter down.

"Who would…" Weiss felt realization dawn on her. "It was your sister, wasn't it?"

Ruby nodded in response before finally taking a deep breath and returning to her normal self. "But seriously. She was totally right that you'd freak at that."

"You're lucky I don't just walk away right now and leave the check to you." Weiss shot back, her tone cold and her gaze steely as ever.

"I'm sorry Weiss. I didn't think you'd get so mad." Ruby put on her puppy dog eyes and Weiss wasn't fast enough to look away. Her blue gaze locked with Ruby's silver and she couldn't help but crack a faint smile.

"Fine, fine! I won't leave. Just hurry up. I might be able to get a sandwich or something on the way back if the deli is still open." Weiss sighed, relaxing into her chair.

"Wanna know the real secret?" Ruby asked as she took another bite.

"If its just another joke, I'm leaving immediately." Weiss warned still not quite done being mad.

"Nothing." Ruby replied after she swallowed her food. "Just eat another bite."

To emphasize, she took yet another slice from the pan situated to the side of the table and took a generously sized bite.

Weiss looked down at her first piece that had a single small bite taken from the end where orange juice had leaked onto the white plate it sat on. Her stomach growled quietly and she sighed in defeat. She took her second bite, bracing for the extreme spiciness that she was sure would come, but was surprised when her mouth barely started heating up.

"How?" She asked after finishing the piece hastily. "How was it so spicy and suddenly its not?"

Ruby smiled and pushed imaginary glasses higher on her nose. "Well Miss Schnee, the question is not why it is suddenly not spicy, but rather why you have suddenly gained a tolerance to it."

"Ruby…" Weiss prompted, unimpressed by her teammate's theatrics.

"Long story short, we're really, really allergic to the main spice but it's also really simple so our bodies adjust so we're not allergic almost right away. That's why it only tastes hot the first time." Ruby explained quickly, back to her usual babble as she sensed Weiss's mood improve from the extra food making its way through her system.

Weiss ate another piece and had to admit Ruby might actually have been right. She could still taste the spice, but it was actually quite tame compared to her first bite and no matter how much she ate, it didn't build up like other spices. The meat, on the other hand was something she was starting to dislike. Normally she ate very little meat, if any at all. But this pizza as its name implied, was stacked with at least six different types of meat which seemed that the pizza's main purpose was to clog arteries. The few vegetables on the top did little to ease her conscience.

"So?" Ruby asked, her smile wide as she watched Weiss eat. "It's pretty good, right?"

"It has enough meat to give anyone a heart attack." Weiss said and Ruby's face fell. Weiss felt immediately bad for saying what she'd been thinking and sighed. "But yes, it is quite good."

Ruby perked up again though only most of the way. The two finished their meal without talking much.

"Alright, I'll bring your desert out right away." The waitress said as she piled the dishes up and carried them away.

"We didn't order anything, though." Weiss said to her retreating back.

"Actually…" Ruby said shrinking a little in her chair.

"What, you know about this?" Weiss asked suddenly suspicious.

"Well… I noticed there was a special where couples get a big sundae free if they come in without reservations." Ruby admitted. "It looked really good, so… I kind of might've mentioned that we were… you know…"

"Ruby… what did you say?" Weiss's tone was barely a whisper but Ruby knew exactly what she'd said. She opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the waitress's rearrival.

"Here is the sundae for the lovers." She said, then clarifying. "Those were her words, not mine."

"Ruby?" Weiss asked quietly, looking at the younger girl but hiding her anger from the waitress.

"Uh… yeah. Surprise Weiss!" Ruby hesitantly gestured to the large ice cream treat on the center of the table. Weiss sighed once again in defeat.

"That looks nice." Weiss said to be polite then addressed the waitress. "We'll take the check next time you come by."

"Sure thing." She walked away leaving Ruby and Weiss alone.

Weiss was staring at Ruby with a conflict raging inside her. On one hand she was angry that she'd told a total stranger they were lovers to get food that was well within what Weiss would have been willing to pay for and that was only fuel added to the fire as she was still angry about Ruby following her sister's instructions to mess with her. On the other, she was impressed that Ruby had wanted to try to surprise her with the desert despite her methods, not to mention that the entire evening was rather enjoyable. The conflict continued on inside her head as she stared at Ruby who seemed to be bracing herself.

After a minute, Weiss sighed. She couldn't stay mad at Ruby. At least not at that moment. Ruby seemed to sense the verdict and relaxed slightly.

"So, say ahhh…" Ruby said jumping up and moving her chair to the side of the table quickly. She held a spoon in her hand that already had ice cream on it. She cupped her free hand below the spoon and moved it close to Weiss's mouth, waiting for her to open her mouth.

"W-w-what are you doing?" Weiss leaned back just to have the spoon and Ruby's hand follow.

"I thought you should have the first bite." Ruby said as if it was just common sense. "I also want to apologize again for Yang's joke earlier. It was bad timing."

"I-its fine!" Weiss said, turning her head slowly to keep Ruby from shoving the spoon into her mouth.

"Then open up!" Ruby smiled happily as the waitress rounded the corner. Weiss could have just argued, but it would have looked odd to the waitress who might have then asked her about their relationship. Weiss didn't wish to have to lie to get Ruby out of trouble so she opened her mouth and let Ruby place the spoon in.

She slowly dragged it out as Weiss ate the slightly melted ice cream that came off the spoon.

"How sweet. Here's your check. If you need to pay with credit, the machine's up front." The waitress stated before walking away.

"Now me!" Ruby announced as she scooped a large chunk of ice cream into her mouth.

"Um… Ruby?" Weiss asked, looking around for the second spoon. "Where'd you put my spoon?"

"What spoon?" Ruby asked, picking up another spoonful of the ice cream and turning to Weiss. "They only gave us one."

"T-then… y-you mean… this…" Weiss watched as Ruby once again slowly raised the spoon to her mouth and waited for her to open.

Ruby cocked her head to the side. "It's not a big deal, me and Yang share all the time!"

"Yes, but you're fa-" Weiss was cut off by Ruby putting the spoon in her mouth. Beneath the ice cream and syrups she could taste a faint taste that wasn't there the first time.

Ruby pulled the spoon out of Weiss's lips again and put another chunk of the sundae in her mouth. Weiss knew she must have turned red, but it didn't seem to be noticed by Ruby who continued to force the spoon to her lips. After several repetitions, Weiss noticed a slightly red tinge to Ruby's ears that she hadn't noticed before.

"Wait." She said as Ruby went to take another spoonful of the half finished sundae for Weiss. Ruby froze, her eyes on the dish and her hand on the spoon. "Aren't you at all… embarrassed by what we're doing?"

"Well… yeah." Ruby admitted, still not moving a muscle. "But I don't know why it's sort of fun too."

Weiss blushed slightly more as Ruby continued. This time Weiss didn't object to the spoon sliding in and out of her lips before returning to Ruby's.

The two sat silently until the entire treat was finished and Weiss quickly glanced at the check. She dropped a bill on the table under the check and pulled Ruby to her feet.

"Lets go." She said, not looking her leader in the face.

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded before walking in front of Weiss to lead the way out.

_I swear, it's as if she likes me too…. No! That can't be…. Can it? _Weiss's thoughts turned troublesome as she followed Ruby's swaying hair back to Beacon.


	22. Chapter 22

"YANG! HELP!" Ruby screamed from the bathroom as she tried to get her dress on. She'd liked what it looked like from the projection, but she hadn't exactly been expecting it to be so difficult to put together to make it look right. Somehow, she'd managed to get the main part of it on correctly since it was just another corset, but that was where her luck had ended. As it turned out, the black mesh that was to cover her shoulders and help keep the breast cups up, was a piece completely separate from the dress that she'd tried on via digital projection. Beside that was the bow that looked easy enough to put on but was about half an inch too large, making it fall low enough on her hip to make it uncomfortable. She'd found points along the bottom of the mesh that obviously connected to something, but Ruby couldn't find nor feel anything on her main dress to connect them to. "YANG!"

"ALRIGHT ALREADY! I'M COMING! SHEESH!" Yang called back from the other room. She'd already donned a sparkling gold dress that had randomly showed up along with a somewhat rude note. The dress looked exotic - probably a style from Vacuo - with an odd cut along the bottom that rose and fell like a slanted wave. The whole thing sparkled an almost blinding gold when it reflected the bright fluorescent light forcing anyone looking directly at her to avert their gaze. Ruby quickly looked at the counter of the bathroom as the door opened and she caught a flash in the mirror thanks to her sister. Even in her peripheral vision the dress was disorienting.

"Where'd you even get that? And is it legal to even wear?" Ruby asked rubbing her eyes as she moved out of the way of the mirror.

"Oh, I won it in a bet." Yang said as if the answer had been obvious the entire time. "Anyway, let me see what the problem is."

Ruby waited as her sister carefully inspected first the mesh then the fabric of her dress to find where it hooked up. After several long minutes of inspection, she started prodding at bits of the fabric along Ruby's lower back.

"Got it!" Yang exclaimed in triumph as she separated the inside of the dress from the outside to find the stitching made of something that separated as it was drawn apart, but didn't appear to be ripped. She carefully inserted the proper connection of the mesh and the fabric seemed to melt together as she closed it. "And damn this must have been expensive. It's got automatically stitching thread along the top."

"Uh… what?" Ruby said, not understanding a word of why Yang was impressed.

"Basically it stitches up automatically after you separate it. It's activated by aura so only aura users can utilize it. I've never actually seen it myself though." Yang explained as she draped the rest of the mesh over her sisters shoulders. She worked her way around the dress, connecting the mesh, Yang started humming to herself. "It's been a while since you needed my help with something."

"Well, that's cause I've grown up! I do drink lots of milk, you know!" Ruby replied indignantly, thinking Yang was making fun of her. Ruby noticed her sister's smile as she came around the front.

"I sort of miss the old days sometimes." Yang said with the air of an old man reminiscing. "Like when you used to get me to read you stories or tuck you in or dye your hair or-"

"I get it!" Ruby blushed thinking of everything she used to ask her sister to help with. "Maybe then you'll let me comb your hair like you used to."

Yang winced. The last time she'd allowed that was just after Ruby had learned of her semblance. To say it was a painful ordeal was an understatement. "Yeah… on second thought I'll keep my memories happy, and without a broken Ruby."

"Sounds good. I'll still ask for help when I need it though." Ruby said, understanding that Yang liked helping her with things.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, little sis." Yang replied with a grin as she finished connecting the last of the mesh fabric. She picked up the bow and inspected it carefully just as she'd done to Ruby's dress. She quickly hung it around Ruby's waist and tightened it properly with a slight tug. "There. Done!"

Ruby stepped away from her sister and looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was even more beautiful now than it had been when it was a projection. The dark red shone bright where the light hit it, creating a sort of shifting shadow as the dress moved. The dark mesh blended with the dress at times while contrasting brilliantly at others. Her skin beneath showed through, yet was covered as she liked it to be. The skirt came down the exact same length as her combat skirt while still making the dress look strikingly mature in comparison to anything else she owned. It was in truth the most amazing thing she'd ever worn in her life.

"Wow…" She breathed as she slowly turned to take in the back. Her sister smiling as Ruby's shocked face marveled at herself in the mirror.

"You know, suddenly I want you to stay home tonight." Yang grinned, making Ruby jump and spin.

"No! I really wanna go! Please?" Ruby forgot about her sister's shining dress and stumbled as she accidentally blinded herself.

Yang chuckled as she caught her sister before she hit the floor. "Don't worry. Just don't go bringing any guys home, okay?"

"Wha-?" Ruby froze.

"Cause I'd hate to have to send someone to the hospital." Yang clarified.

"Whatever. Like anyone would even look at me." Yang raised an eyebrow in question and Ruby continued. "You know, cause you'd blind them all first."

"Is it really that bad?" Yang asked moving to look in the mirror. She immediately turned away and blinked rapidly. "Okay. I get it. I'll change."

"First good idea I've heard all day!" Blake called from the other room.

"Oh shut up!" Yang called back as Ruby left Yang to change outfits.

She reentered the room to find Blake in her clothes, ready for the evening. Blake wore a simple black dress that fell to just below her knees. Nothing screamed that it was special, and it most definitely wouldn't stand out in a crowd, but for the quiet faunus it was perfect.

"You look nice." Blake said over the spine of her book as she turned a page.

"Thanks. So do you." Ruby replied.

"So just so we're clear, stick to Weiss at the party okay?" Blake instructed.

"Um… can I ask why?" Ruby asked, confused as to why Blake was bringing anything up.

"Let's go with… you're the one who invited her." Blake replied with a slight shrug.

"Alright…" Ruby knew she wouldn't get much more out of her teammate, so she switched gears. "Speaking of… where'd Weiss go?"

"I think she said something about Pyrrha." Blake responded. "But she said she'd be back before we leave."

"Alright… think I have time to grab a few cookies?" Ruby asked already edging to the door.

"Probably not." Blake responded after glancing at the time.

"That means maybe yes!" Ruby zoomed out of the room leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. She wanted to get a few more cookies in before the new year and she'd just hope Weiss took a little bit longer to get ready.


	23. Chapter 23

"I can't thank you enough for the help." Weiss said as Pyrrha helped her attach the black mesh above her ivory gown.

"Don't mention it. It's no trouble at all." Pyrrha replied with a smile. "But maybe you can tell me why you didn't want to let your team help?"

"Oh… well…" Weiss hesitated. _Why didn't I just let my team help?_ "I guess I wanted to surprise Ruby."

"Oh?" Pyrrha asked in surprise. "I'm probably getting the wrong message here."

Weiss blushed as Pyrrha pointed out the lack of detail that was so easy to misinterpret. "Oh, right… well I suppose a bit of context wouldn't hurt… we have companion dresses."

"Companion…" Pyrrha was obviously slightly confused at the term.

"They're two different dresses made to complement each other. They're popular for twins, sisters… and couples…. But I had picked mine out weeks ago and Ruby had no idea that I picked this one. She just so happened to like the other of the pair and… yeah." Weiss trailed off.

"So it was just chance then." Pyrrha laughed quietly. "You could have just said that."

"Right… sorry." Weiss mentally kicked herself. _Why am I so nervous?_

"Well, I think that does it." Pyrrha finished with connecting the mesh and stood back so Weiss could inspect it.

"It looks perfect. Thank you." Weiss smiled in team JNPR's mirror as she gave a quick twirl.

"I'm sure your team will be surprised." Pyrrha said just as two knocks sounded on the door. "Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Ren and Jaune in suits, each carrying a single flower box.

"We've brought the flowers." Jaune provided pointlessly as Pyrrha approached him in her long red dress. Weiss could almost see the nervous sweat accumulating at his brow as he held her hand and placed the flower on her wrist.

"Get a room already!" Nora heckled from her bed where she was jumping up and down as Ren walked across the room to her.

Jaune jumped like his rear had caught fire and dropped Pyrrha's hand as Pyrrha looked down, her face almost glowing. Weiss had to admit that they would make a nice couple, but Jaune's skill-set forced her to think otherwise. Ren was watching Nora jump, the flower in his hand until she turned slightly and the flower was suddenly on her wrist. Weiss admired Ren's skill at dealing with Nora and wondered how long it had taken him to learn how to put something on her wrist while she was jumping.

Noticing she was staring she cleared her throat. "Thank you for allowing me to get ready here."

Her ears were met with several voices saying 'no problem'. She left soon after, making sure to take her extra clothing back to her own dorm. She opened the door to find Blake sitting and reading and the bathroom door shut.

"Is Ruby still getting ready?" Weiss asked as she tossed her clothes to the laundry pile.

"No. She left a couple minutes ago." Blake responded.

"What? Where'd she go?" Weiss asked, slightly put off by Ruby's absence.

"To get cookies." Her black haired teammate replied.

"I swear, if she messes up her dress, I'll force her to wear it all night!" The heiress complained. "I'm going to find her!"

The door of the washroom burst open with Yang striking what she obviously thought was a seductive pose.

"Heard your whining through the door, Snow Angel. How about I help you… relax?" Yang had lowered her voice an octave lower than normal, making her sound a lot more like a man. Blake smiled and hid slightly farther behind her book as Weiss slowly turned, feeling her face growing red with her anger.

"Yang… Xiao… Long…. Do not _ever_… call me… SNOW ANGEL!" Weiss yelled, stamping her foot on the ground as her eyes shone a brilliantly bright blue as her aura pulsed to life.

"Whoa! What's going on here?" Ruby asked quietly trailing off as she shut the door behind her, rose petals settling in her wake. The silence of the room seemed to brush her words aside as if they'd never been spoken as the two girls stared each other down. Ruby looked at her sister who was now in a much more tolerable white dress and nodded her approval before turning to her partner. Weiss's eyes and serious look on her face looked striking in the window where the sun was pouring in, giving her a partial silhouette. Ruby felt some form of awe resonate within her as she looked on while slowly pulling out her scroll.

Yang was smiling her signature smile as she easily brushed off Weiss's aggression. She quickly noticed Ruby in her peripherals with her scroll aimed at Weiss, so she did exactly what any good sister would do. Help her get the picture. "Smile!"

Weiss reacted before she could help it, her habits of growing up as a poster child coming out as she put on her signature smirk. A white flash took her attention away from the blond for a moment to find Ruby wide eyed with her mouth hanging open and her scroll in her hand as she snapped one more picture before Weiss's facial expression returned to a frown.

"Time to go. We'll walk slow." Blake announced, dragging Yang out of the room as Weiss seemed to be in a limbo of indecision between continuing her tirade at the blond or dealing with an awestruck Ruby. The door clicked shut like a cannon and Weiss flinched and stepped back towards the bookshelf.

"Sorry Ruby. I've been a little stressed lately and your sister isn't helping." Weiss said quietly, afraid to break the now tranquil, yet awkward atmosphere. "You look extravagant by the way."

"Oh, uh… thanks. You too…" Ruby laughed into the quiet room. "And she can be like that some of the time."

Weiss nodded, feeling no need to further discuss her other teammates. "Why did you take my picture?" _Did she do that 'just because'? Or is there some other motive behind her actions?_

"Are you mad?" Ruby asked, her face preparing to turn on her puppy dog eyes. Weiss sighed and shook her head as she looked down at her own dress. "Well… I guess because your eyes were glowing a little and… stuff…"

"Alright. Since I know you probably wont delete it even if I ask, can you at least send me a copy?" Weiss figured if she was to have a new photo in the tabloids, at least she'd know about it beforehand. She didn't expect Ruby to give it over, but those people had a way to get into everything. Scrolls included.

Ruby nodded and looked down at her scroll for a moment as her thumbs worked across the digital keys. Weiss felt her scroll vibrate but decided to leave it for now. _It'll be there later._

"So… is there anything else to do before we go?" Ruby asked once again back to her normal self. Weiss had to admire her ability to bounce between emotions. The younger girl was obviously itching to get going.

"Let's go." Weiss shook herself mentally. _There's no way she's like that. I should just try to have some fun tonight. Forget about all of this… for both her good and my own._


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:**

**Some of you might notice that this chapter is really long compared to the previous ones. That's because this is the first chapter I ever wrote for this fic that was actually intended as a one-shot. It has been heavily modified for plot reasons, but still remains true to the original draft in all but one event (guess what that is...). Please enjoy!**

**Warnings: This chapter has debatably mature content starting about half way through. **

* * *

"Come on already! Keep up!" Yang complained to her team. She was already far ahead of them as they approached the party in the main hall. She'd been walking quickly then waiting for everyone to catch up while trying to convince them to walk quicker.

It was exactly four hours, thirty-seven minutes and fourty-four, fourty-three and counting, seconds until the new year came. Most people were going crazy as they usually did when a party was held on campus that allowed the consumption of alcohol. The party was already in full swing even though it was only seven twenty-two in the evening.

"Come on guys, let's speed up a little. Please?" Ruby whined from her spot between Blake and Weiss.

Despite the insistence to the contrary, Ruby was every bit as excited for the party as her sister was. Weiss couldn't help but increase her pace ever so slightly causing Blake to frown. The reason for this was the agreement the two girls had made the previous night that they were responsible for their respective partners to make it easier on the whole team. This meant Blake was stuck with whatever their team's party girl managed to get up to that night, hence her attempt to slow the start of the night.

"You two go ahead." Blake said, waving Yang to come back to the group. Once Yang got there, Blake continued. "I forgot something back at the room. Walk with me Yang?"

Yang seemed conflicted, looking in the direction of the party before looking back at Blake. She sighed in defeat. "Fine! Fine. Let's go quick!"

Yang scooped Blake up into a bridal carry and sprinted off back to the dorms. Weiss watched Blake get carried off as she pounded on Yang to let her go. The two rounded the corner and disappeared.

"So… can we get going?" Ruby asked again, snapping Weiss's attention back to her partner.

"Let's go." Weiss responded. Ruby excitedly grabbed her hand and started walking. The pace was one Weiss had long gotten used to since Ruby's semblance tended to make a showing more often than not when she was exited, and she jogged to avoid being dragged along the concrete.

The partners arrived at the party with looks of shock on their faces. They'd expected it to be a large party, but nothing prepared them for what met them on the other side of the doors.

Large balloons were tied to streamers that decorated the large hall. The dance floor had been extended to almost the entire room since a large portion of the original floor was taken by a stage where the Achieve Men were getting set up while local bands performed covers of the year's popular songs. A bar was set up with Professor Port tending to it while Glynda watched the party-goers from the third floor's balcony. The crowd was also filled with unfamiliar faces and Weiss remembered a rumour about there being other combat schools attending from all over Remnant, making this the largest combat school new years party on the planet.

"I love this song!" Ruby squeaked from beside Weiss and took off into the dance floor.

Weiss sighed at being forced to follow since she'd easily lose Ruby in the hundreds of people that were already there if she couldn't see the red haired girl.

She caught Ruby as she stopped in a somewhat less crowded spot on the floor. She was already starting to move with the music while inviting Weiss to join her with a beconing hand since the nearby speaker destroyed any chance of verbal communication.

Weiss sighed inwardly and took a couple steps closer to her partner, yelling as loud as she could for Ruby without actually invading her personal space. "RUBY! CAN WE AT LEAST GET A COUPLE OF DRINKS FIRST?"

"ISN'T IT A LITTLE EARLY FOR THAT PRINCESS?" Ruby shouted back, grabbing Weiss and pulling them together so she could speak directly into the heiress's ear.

"I…" Weiss stopped her response, closing her eyes. She didn't think this would happen so early in the evening, but it seemed there was little to do other than dance, drink, and step outside for air. And right now, Weiss felt she needed the last two activities badly, and in that order. "JUST COME! PLEASE!"

Ruby nodded, letting go of Weiss so she could lead. The crowd had gotten even thicker and more impenetrable in the few minutes since the two had arrived, and finding their way out took almost fifteen minutes of bumping into people and squeezing by tightly packed groups. They'd even had to skirt around three different dance battles that had started as the hunters in training attempted to show off their ability to spin on their heads to the huntresses surrounding them. Weiss rolled her eyes, reaching back and dragging Ruby along when it seemed she wanted to prove her ability to outdo them.

Weiss ordered two shots from their grimm studies professor and surprised him when she took them both before leaving with Ruby still in tow. Ruby waved bye as she disappeared behind yet another group of people and was shocked at how quickly the two found themselves on the second floor balcony that extended over the courtyard below.

"So… can I ask what that was about?" Ruby asked Weiss, leaning her back to the rail as Weiss looked out at the Emerald Forest that stretched from the bottom of the slight hill their building sat atop of to the horizon.

"Don't laugh okay?" Weiss asked, her mind still clear from the shots of vodka she'd taken. At least for now.

"Promise." Ruby covered her heart with one hand and raised the other.

_She's always so animated._ Weiss thought to herself before taking a deep breath. "I can't dance. I only know how to waltz."

It took a moment for Ruby to absorb what her partner had said, then let out a puff of air as she tried valiantly to hold in her giggles. After a moment, they passed and Ruby was looking a little ashamed of herself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to… I just thought it was… you know, something important." Ruby chuckled a little before turning and placing her arm around Weiss's shoulders.

Weiss stiffened her muscles slightly, but she wasn't as bothered as she would normaly have been. The alcohol was starting to take effect, loosening her antisocial attitude and replacing it with the more open and relaxed version that she'd been working on bringing out without the aid of the impairing liquid. To say the least, Ruby'd been the most help towards her goal since she was exponentially easier to get along with than everyone else around her despite her behaviour indicating the opposite.

"Either way, I don't think most people here know how to dance." Ruby stated with a quick glance back to the party. "Just move the way the music tells you to."

"You make it sound easy. I'll look like an idiot!" Weiss shot back in response.

"Then you'll look identical to all the other million people on that floor!" Ruby exclaimed with a grand gesture behind them. "Seriously, if you're that bothered by it, we can just stay near the edge. That way if you want to leave you can just pull me along."

Weiss thought of Ruby's request and nodded, a slight blush creeping onto her face as Ruby took her by the hand and led her back to the ground level to the edge of the dance floor.

The next few hours passed in a daze. The girls had both taken regular breaks to consume water and shots since Ruby was now officially old enough to be allowed to drink.

They tended to leave during the slow songs to replenish their liquids and once to drain them. They hadn't seen any of their friends, but that was to be expected since the party was now completely full with people and more were still arriving in a steady trickle.

The band on stage announced the time being ten minutes off from the new year and the song they started playing was a slow one. Neither Ruby nor Weiss wished to stop dancing right before the end of the year. Shrugging, Weiss placed her hands on Ruby's waist, surprising her.

"W-what are you doing?" Ruby asked curiously as Weiss guided her back and forth in a simple two step, sure she'd end up hurting Ruby or herself if she attempted a waltz on the crowded floor.

"I don't want to stop dancing. Plus it'll look weird if we're the only two not dancing like this." Weiss complained, giving one of her death stares towards the stage before turning back to face Ruby, her expression softening. "Stupid band, playing the wrong type of song."

"Oh well." Ruby smiled, taking Weiss's opinion on the situation as permission to wrap her arms around the heiress.

The two swayed to the soft song, staring into each others eyes. The song continued until the countdown started, both girl's flushed bodies even redder from the somewhat awkward dance.

The crowd shouted fourty as Weiss and Ruby joined in quietly since they were so close to one another, having not parted when the music stopped. Weiss felt her eyes growing dry and neck growing tired as she and Ruby rested their foreheads on each other.

The crowd shouted ten.

_Wait, what am I doing? _Weiss wondered as she pulled her head back from Ruby's.

The crowd chanted five.

Ruby's eyes slowly flitted closed, her lips puffy and inviting. Weiss felt her own eyes close as she drifted closer to her team leader. _But I can't do this,_ c_an I?_

The crowd chanted two.

Their breathing syncronized, both taking a quick breath as the crowd screamed one.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The entire room exploded in the noise of the roar as the band started playing the classic song that was played at new years every year.

But with all the noise around them, Ruby and Weiss were oblivious as their lips pressed gently to each other. A moan from the heiress masked by the roaring crowd as Ruby's tongue traced her lips, coaxing them open.

Weiss was completely lost in the amazing kiss, her first kiss to be exact, and yet it couldn't have been any better or tasted any sweeter. She kept kissing Ruby, both of them dueling with their tongues as those around them started to take notice.

Ruby and Weiss broke apart in dire need for air as the whistling around them punched through their silent bubble.

Weiss looked around terrified, Ruby no better as she took in the situation. She quickly disappeared with her semblance, scooping Weiss up just as her sister had done to Blake earlier that evening. Before they knew it they stood outside the party in the middle of the courtyard hand in hand. Weiss felt her better judgement coming back and knew the alcohol she'd consumed was now starting to wear off to a slight buzz. She wondered if Ruby felt the same.

"R-Ruby?" She started, not knowing what to ask first. Instead, she settled for a greeting to the new year. "Happy new year."

"H-happy new year…" Ruby responded her voice not more than a whisper that was almost drowned out by the continuing party behind them.

The two stood in silence, separated by an arms length when the cold night air finally pierced through the younger girl's clothing, making her shiver. Weiss took off her jacket and draped it around her team leader's shoulders before wrapping her in a hug. It's not as if the jacket was warm, but it would keep the wind off.

"Is this okay?" Weiss asked in a whisper as Ruby's glistening eyes stared deeply into her own. Ruby nodded as she swallowed, trying to get her voice that had been stolen by her sudden proximity to Weiss. When she did, there was but one question on her mind.

"Are you mad?" Ruby prepared herself for the consequences of her actions. Unbenknownst to Weiss, she had actually been drinking non-alcoholic shots half the time since she'd planned on confessing her feelings that evening. So far it was up in the air whether she should actually continue with her plan or not.

Weiss shook her head while taking a deep breath of the crisp night air. "I can't be mad at you. We're both drunk right now… or at least buzzed. That last shot I took has started to wear off."

"Um… about that…" Ruby blushed, looking down from Weiss's eyes as Weiss took a small step back to better see her teammate. "I was never actually… drunk."

"Say what you want, but you were keeping pace with me all evening." Weiss smiled at Ruby's petty insistence. "I won't make fun of you. If that's what you're worrying about."

"No… I mean… half my shots were non-alcoholic. I wanted to… you know…" Ruby waited as the heiress took in her words.

"So… you knew I was drunk and took advantage of me?" Weiss asked sternly, tilting Ruby's face with her finger so she was forced to look into her eyes.

"No! Well, I guess…" Ruby sighed in shame. "I never planned to though… the situation just sort of presented itself… and I never would've gone any further than we did!"

Weiss remained quiet for a moment, as her mind waged war on itself. When the fight had ended, Weiss smiled gently and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"I suppose I should thank you… for making this easier for me…" Weiss's voice was the barest whisper that even Ruby had some difficulty hearing.

"Weiss…"

"Stop! I'm not finished." Weiss cut Ruby off by moving her finger on the scythe weilder's lips. "I know we've had our ups and downs, and I know we're friends, but… but…"

Weiss found herself stuck. She just couldn't get those words out of her mouth.

"Weiss…" Ruby responded with a whisper. It was obvious to Weiss almost right away that she was saying something she'd spent a lot of time rehearsing. "I know we fought a lot in the beginning, but since then we've become good friends and you have no idea how happy that makes me. And I know I should be happy with what we have, but I'm not. Every time I get closer to you, I'm always disappointed that we're not as close as I want to be. But that just made me work harder to know you better."

Ruby took a deep breath and Weiss kept listening, wondering if Ruby was going to help her with the one thing she wanted to say but couldn't find the words for. She kept her eyes closed and her arms around her teammate to preserve her waning warmth from her lack of jacket.

"But I'm rambling now aren't I?" Ruby asked Weiss who didn't respond, the answer being rhetorical. "What I wanted to say is I want us to be more than what we are now, but I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you."

"Ruby… are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" Weiss gave herself a mental high five for finally managing a sentence that, albeit remotely, resembled the one that she'd been trying to ask Ruby since they'd left the party.

"Well, only if you want to… I mean, our freindship is more important to me than-" Ruby was cut off by Weiss's cool lips meeting her own in their second kiss. Weiss pulled away leaving Ruby quiet and slightly shocked. Still, she continued as if the kiss had only swallowed the middle of her sentence. "I can't lose you."

"You wont." Weiss responded with a small smile, warm blood still rushing to fuel her ever deepening blush and keeping her skin warm in the cold air. "I'd love to be your girlfriend. Provided that you're okay with dealing with me…"

Weiss hated to admit that even in such a perfect moment, she was insecure about how her total lack of people skills might ruin her relationship with her team leader. Already her mind was creating scenarios that made her want to rip her heart out.

"Weiss… I'll take the whole package. Extras included." Ruby smiled gently, wrapping her arms around Weiss and leaning in to kiss her new girlfriend for the first time since they'd officially named their relationship.

Weiss closed her eyes, enjoying the gentleness that Ruby exhibited towards her as if Ruby was a glassmith working with her most delicate piece. Weiss felt the chill on the outside of her arms start to bite but couldn't stop her kiss with Ruby because of the complete bliss her mind was enveloped in.

When they finally surfaced for breath Weiss shivered in Ruby's arms, making her remember that Weiss had given up her jacket.

"Let's go back inside." Ruby started to walk Weiss to the door, her arm still around Weiss's shoulders.

"Do you want to stay still?" Weiss asked, her voice shaking slightly from her chill that had quickly spread down to her bones.

Ruby took one look at the packed party and changed directions, leading them around the outside of the building. "Let's go home and warm up then?"

"Quickly preferrably." Weiss started walking as fast as her already numb legs would carry her.

Ruby kept up for a minute before she draped Weiss's jacket back over her shoulders.

"What are you-" Weiss started but was interrupted when Ruby picked Weiss up in her arms.

"Let's go home." Ruby sprinted forward, the cold air biting through the thin jacket and freezing Weiss, but not as much as she would have if she'd been forced to walk the whole way.

The two entered the room mere minutes later. Seeing it empty and dark, they headed straight for the washroom where Weiss turned the hot tap on the tub and plugged the drain as Ruby kicked off her shoes.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked, hesitant to start taking her outfit off with Ruby in the room.

"It was in survival class. We're both freezing and we need to warm up otherwise we'll get sick." Ruby said in her teamleader mode. She paused for a moment to yawn before continuing."Not to mention if I wait outside, I'll end up falling asleep."

"Good point." Weiss quickly turned her back to Ruby and stripped her clothing off. Weiss was honestly impressed that Ruby had remembered such a small token of information that she hadn't even put in her notes, thinking it was common sense.

Weiss hesitated when she was wearing only her underwear, they were made of the kind of fabric that shrunk when it got wet meaning she'd have a difficult time taking them off if she didn't do so before getting in. She'd never learned how much that shrinkage went, but couldn't imagine it being comfortable.

She heard the splash of water as Ruby got into the tub behind her, the roar of the massive tap silenced soon after, the only sound being the waves gently lapping at the walls of the massive bath.

"Well, come on in. The water's only getting colder." Ruby said while submerging herself to her chin in the water.

Weiss turned to find Ruby watching her carefully, her whole body obscured by steam and ripples except for the top of her eyes and nose as she couldn't help but sink as far as possible into the water. Weiss felt a wave of self consciousness wash over her as she realized she was standing in front of her brand new girlfriend in nothing more than two rather skimpy pieces of cloth.

"C-close you eyes!" Her blush deepened as she tripped over her words. Ruby complied quickly, her cheeks puffing up as a grin spread across her face under the water. Weiss, having nothing to watch but the top of her head, noticed Ruby's grin and muttered her displeasure. "Dunce."

Weiss told herself many things as she quickly removed her underwear. Thoughts like _we're both girls_ and _I'm just doing this so we don't get sick _echoed in her head, but were drowned out by the much louder sirens of _I can't believe I'm taking a bath with Ruby_, and _there is absolutely no way this is okay._

Weiss stepped into the water and sunk to her chin quickly, sitting as far as possible from Ruby. She hadn't noticed how large the tub really was until now. Even with the extra space meant for one person to completely relax and stretch, Weiss could feel Ruby's feet beside her as she remained submerged in the hot water. The large tub felt suddenly more cramped to Weiss than anything she'd ever experienced, including a small suit of armour she'd tried on as a kid. She closed her eyes as she forced her mind to go blank and ignore all sensations her nerves were picking up except the hot water slowly burning into her cold skin.

After several deep breaths, she opened her eyes to find Ruby still looking at her, this time with her head cocked to the side. "What's up?"

"I…" Weiss couldn't think of what to say. She'd just seen Ruby's body as the rippling water gave her a brief glimpse before returning the view to obscurity. This wouldn't have bothered her so much if Ruby wasn't in a state of complete undress. It wasn't as if it was the first time she'd seen her in the nude, since they'd shared a changing room together many times before, but now it felt a little wrong. "You're… I-I'm done. I n-need to g-go."

Weiss started to get up, forgetting her own state of undress, but was stopped by Ruby quickly moving to straddle her legs, keeping her seated in the water. The water cascaded down around Ruby's breasts as her upper body surfaced.

"You're still freezing!" Ruby argued, feeling Weiss's skin beneath her as she placed her hands on Weiss's legs for balance.

"C-could you g-get off me?" Weiss asked shakily, feeling every painful detail of Ruby's skin resting on her leg. The feeling completely destroying what was left of her composure.

"Promise to stay till you warm up?" Ruby asked sternly, not moving an inch and obviously looking for only one possible answer.

"F-fine! J-just get o-off!" Weiss snapped her eyes shut keeping her muscles lax and relaxing back into the water slowly as Ruby rose off her legs.

"Oh!" Ruby gasped, her muscles tensing against Weiss's leg. Weiss had slipped farther than she intended and one of her legs had come off the floor of the tub, nudging Ruby's center before she finally regained her balance and pulled her leg back away from her partner.

"S-sorry! I-It was an a-accident!" Weiss appologised afraid that Ruby would think she'd been trying to initiate something she'd been trying desperately to avoid before her mind broke completely.

Ruby breathed heavily for a few seconds before continuing her movement off of Weiss. Weiss kept her eyes shut as she felt Ruby slip back into the water except differently this time. She couldn't figure out what was different so she slowly opened her eyes.

Silver eyes met blue as Ruby leaned over her like a predator. Weiss was frozen, surrounded by almost boiling water, but instantly frozen by Ruby's gaze. She was breathing heavily but silently as she simply watched Weiss react to her position.

Weiss felt her self control ebb as she reached up to guide Ruby into a kiss. Ruby lowered herself farther into the water, removing the buffer between their bodies. Weiss could imagine what the scene would look like from a camera and moaned into Ruby's lips as she realized she was turned on by her traitorous mind. And with Ruby here, it would be infinitely more difficult to deal with it enough to be able to get to sleep that night.

Her train of thought was interrupted when Ruby replaced her leg over Weiss's so they were both stradling each other with one leg against the other's sensitive genitalia.

"R-Ruby!" Weiss couldn't put any more words in her sentence but luckily, she didn't need to. "Its not l-like I don't want t-to do… that… its j-just…"

"I know. Sorry Weiss…." Ruby responded breathily. "But I just need to stay like this for a minute. Okay?"

Weiss nodded realizing Ruby was just trying to calm herself down. Weiss decided to help things along with a gentle, chaste kiss that seemed to help the longer it continued. Weiss carefully wrapped her arms around Ruby, linking them across the small of her back as Ruby used one of her hands to keep her weight off Weiss and the other gently pressed to her stomach. To Weiss's astonishment, she felt no discomfort to the intimate touch. In contrast, she felt a warm tingling spread from Ruby's palm and spread throughout her body.

The two remained still, simply kissing and warming their bodies as Weiss felt her own excitement slowly abate to a dull throb, letting her know she'd neglected her needs yet again.

Five minutes passed, then ten and Ruby finally pushed herself off Weiss, being careful not to rub herself or Weiss as she stood from the tub and stepped out onto the cold tile.

"Let's go to bed." Ruby yawned as Weiss followed her example, opening the drain before she did so and letting the water slowly drain.

Weiss didn't respond to Ruby, taking her towel and drying off before putting on her night gown that she'd left in the washroom that morning.

She brushed her teeth quickly and passed Ruby as she reentered, wearing yet another of Weiss's night gowns. Weiss took two steps towards her bed when a slight creak of Ruby's bunk above gave her just enough warning to dive out of the way.

A loud snap sounded and the bed fell from it's ropes which snapped outwards like whips and fell hard, slamming into Weiss's bed causing, quite literally a small explosion of splinters to fly everywhere around the room. Thinking quickly, Weiss pulled up a glyph to avoid the worst of the shrapnel as the destruction settled. Everything she had been thinking up till that point flew out of her head as the shock of her near death penetrated her consciousness.

Ruby flipped on the light switch and looked at the bed in horror before she found Weiss leaning against the other set of bunks in the room, one arm slightly bloody as the white haired girl plucked the few splinters she hadn't blocked out of her skin.

"Oh my god! Weiss! Are you okay?" Ruby stepped cautiously over the small pieces of wood so she wouldn't get them stuck in her feet as she approached Weiss.

"Fine, Ruby." Weiss plucked the last chip from her arm and flared her aura to heal the wounds. "Just a little shocked right now."

Ruby nodded and turned to inspect the damage. Weiss's bed looked fine except that there was a second bed on top of it with a shattered corner to it's frame. The rope that had been holding it up dangled from the ceiling pitifully and the few pillows that had been on Ruby's bed had been sent flying around the room. Ruby carefully walked over to the lone broom they had and started sweeping so they could at least walk around the wreckage.

Once Ruby had finished, she stood staring at the two piled beds wondering exactly how to get rid of the broken one without damaging the one beneath it. Weiss took a spot beside her, now thankful that she hadn't been in bed yet.

"Any ideas?" Ruby asked tilting her head back and forth, trying to figure out how to remove the two hundred pounds of wreckage and coming up with nothing.

"…" Weiss thought for a moment, wondering if the only idea that had come into her head would work. _Ah, what the heck._ "One."

Ruby listened to Weiss's idea and nodded a few times while she explained it. The two thought for a few more minutes and decided it wasn't worth the effort.

"I'll get us actual bunk beds tomorrow." Weiss said as she prepared herself to make a glyph between her bed and Ruby's. "That way we won't have this problem again."

Ruby carefully unfolded her weapon into its scythe form. She waited for Weiss's nod before swinging it down onto the bed, chopping both wood and matress in half then in half again, making eight easy to carry pieces of junk.

The girls piled it all in the largest corner of the room, being too tired to get rid of it that night. Weiss quickly changed her bedding from the slightly torn sheets that were the result from the falling bunk while Ruby went to finish her nightly ritual in the washroom. Once she came back Ruby found Weiss laying in her bed.

"So… I guess I'm stuck sharing with Yang." Ruby started to climb up to Yang's bunk when Weiss's voice stopped her.

"I appreciate that you respect my space, but getting suffocated or crushed by your sister would be somewhat detrimental to the future of our relationship." Weiss sighed. Her face slowly took on a blush when Ruby didn't grasp the meaning of her statement, so she pulled the covers back slightly and patted the bed beside her. "I said I wouldn't make a habit of sharing. I didn't say I wouldn't offer if the occasion deemed it necessary."

"Thanks Weiss." Ruby mumbled tiredly as she climbed in. Weiss was facing the wall, so she slipped her arm around the white haired girl's waist, pulling her into a warm cuddle.

"Goodnight Ruby." Weiss yawned before falling silent. It took only five minutes for Ruby's breathing to slow. Once it did, Weiss let out her control and smiled at the wall, taking a deep breath and falling asleep the way she had only dreamed about for such a long time.


	25. Chapter 25

The first thing to enter Weiss's conscious mind that morning was pain. Her head decided a nice reminder of why she didn't make a habit of drinking was in order. Her eyes felt sore as if she'd been up all night, her mouth was dry and felt as if her tongue was made of coarse grind sandpaper, and her throat felt as if it had swollen shut.

As her senses slowly returned, she noticed something else. Something that until now, she'd dismissed as a dream.

She opened her eyes a crack, not willing to move in case she would disturb her teammate who had one arm wrapped loosely around her middle. Through the crack that sent a shiv of light into her brain, she could easily make out the destroyed bunk bed resting in a pile across the room and could tell there was more light than was normal where she slept.

The longer she was awake, the more memories from the previous night returned. And Weiss felt a large wave of dread wash over her.

"Morning, Weiss." Ruby yawned before she moved to give Weiss a peck on the lips.

Across the room, an audible gasp was heard just before the sound of knuckles popping.

"Yang, leave it." Blake ordered monotonously. "I'm sure they have an explanation."

"They better!" Yang spat, her anger evident in her voice.

"Well, last night we-" Ruby started only to be cut off.

"Ruby!" Weiss's brain wasn't working as fast as she wished it would, but she knew she had to take control of this situation quickly as she knew it was going to get out of hand if she didn't. "Just… wait…. Before that, we need to have a talk… and painkillers. And I do not wish to discuss this while your sister is angry."

"Tough! Someone better talk before I decide it doesn't really matter!" Yang's aura flared, heating the room.

"Yang, just… wait, okay? I promise I'll explain some time today, okay?" Ruby pleaded, understanding Weiss's reasoning before jumping out of bed to try to placate her sister.

"How about we all meet at the Vale Bakery for supper at six?" Blake suggested, helpfully buying the two time to discuss whatever they needed to.

"Fine, but you two better be there or else!" Yang looked directly at Weiss when she said those words, and the meaning couldn't have been clearer.

"We'll be there, don't worry." Ruby reassured her sister before grabbing her clothes and running into the washroom to change.

An awkward silence fell on the room as Blake continued to read the book she'd temporarily neglected and Yang watched Weiss gather her clothes for the day unblinkingly. After a minute, Ruby came out and Weiss took her place, quickly changing and heading back to the room to find Yang whispering to Ruby who was shaking her head.

"Ruby, time to go." Weiss said, picking up her scroll and walking to the door.

"Bye! See you later!" Ruby called to the other two of her teammates as she followed Weiss out the door.

They walked along the hall in silence, heading for the taxi Weiss had texted immediately after leaving.

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked curiously.

"To a furniture shop to get bunk beds." Weiss answered shortly, opening the door and holding it a second longer than she normally would have done so Ruby could catch it as she followed.

After that, the walk was quiet. So quiet it was painful to both girls. Weiss hated how short she'd been with Ruby, but she knew deep down that their relationship couldn't change. Barring a drunken night of celebration, Weiss knew she had to push Ruby away. If not to please her father, then to keep Ruby safe from all the dangers that came with being in a relationship with a Schnee. The only problem now was how silent her usually talkative teammate was being.

The two arrived at a furniture shop with the silence between them intact. Weiss led Ruby to the back of the store where she noticed a display bed much like the one in her room at White Castle. After they'd passed the majority of the other furniture, it wasn't hard to find the bunk beds ranging from small ones for children to larger ones for adults. A few were wall mounted or collapsible, most made of wood but a few crafted from metal tubing.

The two walked past most of the beds until Weiss finally stopped in front of one made with simply cut wood that was varnished with a clear finish to preserve the look of the natural grain.

"What do you think of this one?" Weiss asked appraising the qualities of the bed.

"Um… it's the same color as the ones in our room?" Ruby responded, her voice cracking from disuse. Weiss knew she was still thinking about what they'd talk about when they'd eventually get someplace more private, so it fell to her to decide.

The wood was plain. It matched the wood of the beds provided by the school in color and type. The only issue might have been that it was slightly larger in size than those the bunks were meant to replace. It wouldn't be a problem, but it would eliminate the small isle between the beds and the wall that she liked to use when getting out of bed.

Weiss looked around and not a single other set looked as if they'd match the room and sighed as a salesman approached her. She quickly ordered the bed and installation for later that day and paid for it with her credit card. Without waiting for Ruby to realize she was done, she started walking out of the store.

She had just placed one foot on the sidewalk when a hand slipped into hers. Weiss gave a small yelp and yanked her hand back as if she were burned and turned to find Ruby looking at her sadly.

"I'm sorry… I just thought…" Ruby started, her eyes tearing up.

"Shhh." Weiss couldn't bear to see Ruby hurt by her actions, yet she knew she'd see much worse by the end of the day. She decided she'd at least try to keep her happy until then. "Let's go for a walk in the park and talk, okay?"

"Can we hold hands?" Ruby asked hopefully, still sad from Weiss's initial response.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." Weiss responded just before taking another glance at her partner.

Ruby looked like a kicked puppy. Nothing else could have described her appearance at that moment of time better, and Weiss knew that she was the one who'd done the kicking. Weiss felt a pain rise up in her stomach that had nothing to do with the lingering effects of her hangover and sighed in frustration. She quickly grabbed Ruby's hand and walked off, dragging her friend into the deserted park and sitting down at a bench near the center.

"So…" Ruby started after five minutes of silence.

"We need to talk about last night." Weiss said seriously, keeping her eyes on her hands that were now clasped in her lap.

"I don't think Yang was that upset. Otherwise we would've had a repeat of last time." Ruby said quickly, guessing at the first thing Weiss would want to take care of. "Plus with the bed being destroyed and all…"

"I agree." Weiss sighed. This was the most difficulty she's ever had talking to someone, but she couldn't back out now otherwise she knew she'd never be able to do what she knew she had to. "All that's left is to discuss our relationship then."

"Uhm, sure Weiss. What did you want to talk about?" Ruby asked nervously.

"I…" Her voice cracked and gave out just as she started her sentence. She silently cursed her voice and cleared her throat. "I… _we_…can't do this."

"Huh?" Ruby sounded surprised and slightly put off by the statement. "Why not?"

"Because we're both girls. Because I'm afraid you'll get hurt, and because my last name is Schnee!" Weiss vented, talking quickly but not harshly. She took a deep breath and clenched her hands into fists as she said the last thing she knew needed to be said. "I'm sorry Ruby. I'm so sorry. You would be better off to forget about me."

The silence stretched between them. Weiss felt the painful roll of her stomach as she waited patiently for Ruby to say something, anything to show she understood. That she'd continue living her life without her as a girlfriend.

"Weiss." Ruby's hand lightly cupped her opposite cheek and Weiss turned her head out of reflex to look deep into Ruby's eyes.

Weiss gulped as her resolve started to waver from Ruby's silver gaze. Her pulse quickly doubled and tripled until she could only feel a heated thrum running through her veins while Ruby's eyes held her captive. Ruby leaned forward and Weiss found herself mirroring Ruby even though this was exactly what she'd been trying to prevent.

Ruby's lips were softer than silk as they pressed so gently to Weiss's that she felt herself start to tear up. Ruby kept still, the only contact between them their lips and the guiding hand. Weiss's eyes burned hotter as the kiss continued.

"I'm sorry." Weiss broke the kiss and looked down at her hands again.

Ruby remained silent for a few seconds before Weiss felt a head rest on her shoulder. "Nope."

"Huh?" Weiss didn't think she'd heard Ruby right.

"I said… nope!" Ruby giggled softly. "You made me a promise last night, and you're not allowed to break it."

"I was drunk!" Weiss exclaimed incredulously, snapped out of her sadness by Ruby's stubbornness.

"That's no excuse." Ruby replied quietly, bringing back the sense of intimacy that the conversation had lost.

"But…" Weiss couldn't think of an argument. Or rather, she couldn't bring herself to say anything she thought up.

"Weiss. It doesn't matter if we're both girls. I know you know that." Ruby started arguing Weiss's reasoning. "And I'm not a little girl anymore. I know what I'm doing. The only way you could hurt me right now is if you walked away and kept lying to yourself."

"Fine… you win. But we still can't date." Weiss said before taking a deep breath. Weiss felt lighter now that she knew Ruby didn't hate her, but she knew the next semester was going to be difficult now that she had to keep Ruby at arms length.

Weiss felt Ruby freeze for a moment. Then, "Could you explain _why_ to me?"

"There's nothing to explain." Weiss knew Ruby wouldn't stop asking until she gave some form of information, so she settled with a bare summary. "My parents would be a problem. With them comes the company, board of directors, media, paparazzi, hit men, white fang… the list goes on…."

"I still don't see a problem." Ruby stated honestly. "It's not as if we haven't dealt with stuff like that before. Remember the shipping yard?"

"This isn't…" Weiss started and stopped. There was no use arguing with Ruby. "I can't…. I just can't drag you into my life and my problems. I've seen so much blood… I can't have yours on my hands. I wouldn't be able to live with that…. I wouldn't…"

"Shhh…" Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss, pulling her close so her ear stopped right beside Ruby's mouth. Weiss felt Ruby's calm breath graze her skin, heating it with a warmth that contrasted sharply with the bitterly cold outdoor air. "Nothing's going to happen."

"You don't know that!" Weiss shook as her fear started forcing its way out as her defensive walls began to crumble after holding in too much for far too long.

"You're right." Ruby admitted. "But that sort of thing comes with the territory of becoming a huntress. So really the only difference would be that I get to be in love with my best friend."

Weiss froze as she heard Ruby's words. Her tears forgotten in favour of the idea that maybe she didn't have to shield Ruby from her life's ever-present dangers. Then the exact words Ruby had spoken sunk in. "Y-you're in l-love with me?"

"Yes, Weiss… I love you, as long as you'll let me. Will you be my girlfriend?"


	26. Chapter 26

_The Vale Bakery is one of the oldest buildings in the very center of the city of Vale. It was the third building created after the great war that pushed the Grimm out of the Vale region. In addition to being almost two hundred years old, its architecture uses a bomb resistant, fireproof material that had been mined in a now Grimm infested country to the north. The stories about that area say that the entire mine, that was slightly larger than modern day Vale at the time of the war, is now filled with one large Grimm nest. Since Vale Bakery is made out of the rare material, it has survived through the fires and bombing during the second faunus civil war virtually unscathed._

Blake moved away from the sign hanging on the wall just beside the counter and went to sit with Yang. The tray she carried had two sandwiches and glasses of iced green tea.

"They're late. I knew that prissy little bi-" Yang started complaining only to have Blake cut her off.

"First off, they're not late. We're early because you couldn't sit still and wait another half hour. So they still have twenty minutes to get here." Blake took the plate with her tuna sandwich and one of the iced teas off the tray and placed it in front of her as Yang copied her and moved the tray out of the way. "And second, you seem to be awfully angry with Weiss."

"Of course I'm angry!" Yang shouted, drawing stares from nearby tables. "She's obviously taking advantage of my sister!"

"What makes you say that?" Blake asked.

"Well… uh…" Yang blanked.

With a smile, Blake continued. "If anything, Weiss has more reason to think Ruby's trying to take advantage of her."

"What? No." Yang shook her mane of curls to emphasize her disbelief. "Ruby's not that type of person."

"Regardless, I assume our heiress has had experience with people like that." Blake explained. "If that's true, then what we witnessed this morning was much longer in the making than just last night."

"You know, you're not exactly helping me calm down." Yang said between her clenched teeth. Her knuckles were white as her fist rested on the table, clenching to help her control her temper and by extension, her aura.

"Well, if you explode and get kicked out, that's your own fault. And I won't repeat anything we discuss later." Blake sipped her tea and picked up her sandwich for a bite.

"This is payback for rushing to get the party started last night, isn't it?" Yang groaned in realization.

"I would say no, but I'm not confident in my ability to lie to you right now." Blake responded in between bites. Yang sighed and picked up her sandwich and ripped half of it off in one huge bite.

Blake couldn't help but grin at how the blond's personality contrasted so sharply with her appearance. On the outside, she looked like an attractive and sweet girl, but in times like these her personality was more similar to a bull in a china shop. Scratch that, a berserking bull in a china shop. Just waiting to break everything within reach.

With the conclusion of that thought and the last bite of her sandwich, the bell above the entrance to the shop rang and in stepped a girl with a red cape followed by another wearing brilliant white.

Blake waved a greeting as they stood in line for their food. She didn't often judge people at a distance, but her two teammates seemed… content. The atmosphere between them seemed to have been cleared up since the morning as Ruby was now talking to Weiss in her normal fashion with Weiss responding in her usual clipped tone. But despite that Blake's instincts told her it was anything but the usual.

"You two are early." Weiss stated as she took the chair at the table that was closest to Blake and across from Yang, effectively putting herself the farthest from the blond's fists. Ruby took the remaining seat and they each took their sandwiches from the tray Weiss had carried.

"She couldn't sit still, so we arrived twenty minutes ago." Blake said with a nod to Yang, the reason this discussion would be held in public.

"So, how about you explain yourself, princess?" Yang said threateningly, cracking her knuckles as if readying to hit Weiss.

"We haven't even eaten yet. Be patient or _we _won't say a word." Weiss threatened. "It's not like this matter concerns you anyway."

"Like hell it doesn't!" Yang shouted, once again drawing glares from the surrounding tables. "She's my sister!"

"Oh, please. Holding to that logic, you should take up any problems you have with me, with _my_ older sister." Weiss stated sarcastically. "Now let us eat."

"I didn't know you had an older sister! That's so cool!" Ruby squealed through a mouthful of food. Weiss swallowed before reprimanding her for talking with her mouth full.

Several minutes later, mainly the three of them waiting for Weiss to finish, Ruby gathered all the dirty dishes and took them to the garbage and added them to the existing pile. In her brief absence, the atmosphere went solid with tension emanating from Yang as she stared down her white haired teammate. Ruby sat back down and looked between Yang and Weiss and coughed lightly to break the silence.

"So, you said you'd explain so explain." Yang said. "Why did you kiss my sister? And when did this start?"

"First of all, I kissed nobody." Weiss clarified.

"That was sort of me." Ruby piped in quickly.

"And define 'this'." Weiss said, taking note that Yang's eyes were still completely void of the red that gave warning to her level of temper.

"This. You two being all buddy buddy. Sharing clothes, sleeping together. Hell you're never apart for more than a few hours a week!" Yang said, realizing just how much time they spent together.

"Well I'd have to say that at the very least last night it was unavoidable." Weiss then went on to explain how the upper bunk had almost killed her, to which Yang seemed saddened and disappointed, and explained the solution they'd come up with in their semi-intoxicated state.

"I'm sorry, I just don't see why she had to share _your_ bed. And both of you being tipsy doesn't help your argument." Yang argued.

"I'm not going to explain anymore. I know it was not the wisest of decisions, but what's done is done. Nothing happened." Weiss stated firmly before leaning back in her chair.

After a moment of silence, Blake spoke up. "Are you two dating now, then?"

Yang's eyes drilled into Weiss who simply turned her head to Ruby.

"Yes!" Ruby chirped happily before she took Weiss's hand and gave it a quick squeeze before letting it go.

Yang witnessed this odd behaviour and looked between Ruby and Weiss. "You're hiding it aren't you?"

"Sort of…" Ruby nodded, leaving her head down to look at the table.

"For now. Until I have a chance to speak with my parents." Weiss stated, noticing red starting to emerge in Yang's eyes.

"And why do you need to do that?" Yang breathed threateningly.

"They have already had my whole life planned out. This sort of ruins a large part of those plans. Not to mention that if they found out from the media first, it would be exponentially worse." Weiss said. "Ruby will already have to deal with White Fang assassins. No need to add those my father hires to the list."

The red in Yang's eyes flashed bright for a moment before disappearing. She slowly started nodding her head up and down as she realized that their current situation was unavoidable with Weiss being who she was.

"Is your father really that bad?" Blake asked curiously. Out of everyone there, she'd been the only one who had been part of a militant organization prior to Beacon, and had worked for the group that opposed Weiss's family's company.

"He's worse than that." Weiss said with a slight shiver. "Normal assassins, like the ones from the White Fang, just don't care. They run if things look like they're going bad. The ones my father hires are… different. Unhinged. They like to kill. They have fun doing their job, and most of them would rather die than give up. They tend to be… messy."

"I think I've heard about some of those guys…" Yang mumbled as a conversation with a bartender a couple of years ago came back to the front of her mind. "Suicide Squad… or something like that…"

"That's them. Or at least most of them are part of that gang." Weiss nodded.

Yang sighed and stretched her arms. "Well, I understand why you want to keep it quiet for now. And I agree, but you have until the end of this winter break to talk to your parents."

The four got up and headed out the door, Blake leading followed by Ruby, Weiss, and Yang in the rear.

"Hold up Ice Queen." Yang caught Weiss's arm as she was about to follow Ruby out of the cafe.

"What now?" Weiss stopped, though she didn't have much choice in the matter. Yang's upper body strength was unrivaled.

"If you need some help… _convincing_ your parents to keep the hit men at home…" Yang said, cracking her fingers on her free hand one by one as she spoke quietly to her teammate.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to let you know if I require your… _assistance_." Weiss responded to Yang, copying her tone of voice.

"That's all I'm asking." Yang said while putting both hands up in surrender before stepping past Weiss and leaving to rejoin the rest of their team.

Weiss sighed and followed. Her life was going so smooth. Why did it have to turn upside down so suddenly? She thought about everything and decided her energy would be better put to figuring out how to tell her parents what would surely be treated as unwelcome news.


	27. Chapter 27

"So, where are you going for the winter break?" Blake asked Weiss as the two of them slowly made their way back to the dorms from their lockers in the gym. The last two items for their trip on their back and hip respectively.

"Hm? Oh, this time I'm staying here. My father will be in Vale on business so I'll have a chance to speak to him and my mother some time in the next couple of days." Weiss responded robotically, her thoughts obviously on something else.

"Will you be staying in Vale the whole time?" Blake asked, breaking Weiss out of her thoughts. It was odd for Blake to be talkative, but someone more mature to talk to was somewhat grounding to Weiss as she needed to get used to talking formally once again.

"It will only take me two days at the most to take care of what I need to, so I would be able to come back to the dorms early. What did you have in mind?" Weiss asked.

"Well, I've been invited to Ruby and Yang's house since I had nowhere to go." Blake said before pausing.

"In other words, I'd have the dorm to myself." Weiss sighed. Sure she liked the quiet, but she wasn't looking forward to being completely alone. That time of her life was one she'd rather not return to.

"Actually, that's why Ruby asked me to talk to you." Blake said as she pushed open a door and held it for Weiss.

"Ruby did? Why couldn't she talk to me herself?" Weiss asked.

"I believe it was something along the lines of, and quote, _I don't want her to change her plans just because I invited her because she probably has more important stuff to do than hang out with me._" Blake said monotonously. "But regardless you're invited to Ruby and Yang's house in patch if you want to go."

"If I…" Weiss slowed her pace as Blake pushed the door to the dorm open.

"Hey Blake!" Yang shouted almost immediately. "Sit on top of this case for me, kay?"

"Sure. But you really shouldn't pack so much." Blake responded before sitting down on top of Yang's suitcase allowing her to force it shut.

"Done!" Yang exaggerated wiping sweat from her brow before noticing Weiss was standing in the open door and staring off into the distance out the rooms window. "Hey Ice Queen! Whatcha doing?"

"Huh?" Weiss snapped her head around to Yang, looking her in the face and mentally sighing as she realized she wasn't in trouble. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Been doing a lot of that lately. Anything we should be worried about?" Yang asked. Her tone sounded worried and caring. Two things Weiss didn't yet associate with the blond brawler.

"No…" Weiss responded before glancing around. "Where is Ruby?"

"She's-" Yang was interrupted by a loud bang behind Weiss.

"Your team leader has returned!" Ruby shouted in a triumphant voice, two large boxes in her hands. "Bearing gifts crafted by the finest in the land in order to uh-sewage your hunger!"

She placed the boxes down and lifted the lid of the top one to show an assortment of pastries. Yang immediately grabbed two and started eating as she moved her suitcase to sit beside the large bag that had been packed the previous day.

"I think you meant _assuage_." Blake told Ruby who blushed as Blake turned away and sat back on her bed, once again opening her book.

"That's our kitty!" Yang joked as she jumped up on her own bunk. "Not a word in existence she doesn't know!"

"Stop Yang." Blake said. A small smile appearing on her lips behind the book she raised further to hide her reaction.

"Speaking of words… Ruby can you spare me a few minutes?" Weiss asked, placing her weapon down on her bed.

"Always!" Ruby chirped, reopening the door and turning back to her team. "Oh! And the second box is dust. So don't eat it, Yang!"

"Damn it! That was one time!" Yang shouted, bolting up to a sitting position in her bed. "And I was eight!"

"I never ate dust, ever. Your point?" Ruby asked with a laugh.

"Shut up." Yang grumbled as she turned to the wall and collapsed back to her pillows.

Ruby led Weiss out of the dorm and down the hall at a leisurely pace. Soon they found themselves on the roof looking out over the long path to the airship docks and the cliff.

"So what's up?" Ruby asked, noticing Weiss had been oddly quiet and unfocused.

"I…" Weiss trailed off into mumbling.

"I have no idea what you just said." Ruby said worriedly. "What's wrong?"

Weiss took a deep breath to focus her mind and nerves.

"I…" She started again and paused before continuing in a much quieter voice. "Need your help."

"See, not so hard, right?" Ruby took Weiss's hand in her own. "Just let me know what it is and I'll try my best, okay?"

"Thanks… but I don't want to ruin your plans for the break." Weiss said, squeezing Ruby's hand slightly to add emphasis to her words.

"Weiss, my break is literally going home, sleeping, and relaxing before I come back. There's nothing I have planned… well, unless someone special came to spend the break with me?" Ruby blushed as she hinted at the invitation she'd given Weiss through Blake.

"If that's the case, may I ask a favour of you?" Weiss asked nervously.

"Sure!" Ruby chirped, happy to have Weiss relying on her rather than the typical inverse. "Whatever it is consider it done!"

"Don't say yes until you know what I'm going to ask!" Weiss reprimanded Ruby. After a moment of silence, she continued. "It's so cold out today…"

"Yeah. Not the warmest." Ruby let go of Weiss's hand and instead wrapped her in a hug with one of her arms trailing her cloak so Weiss wouldn't freeze.

"Thanks…" Weiss pushed Ruby away slightly and was trapped by the enchanting silver eyes that swirled with energy and optimism. "About the favour… would you accompany me when I inform my parents of our relationship?"

"Uh…" Ruby blanked. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No… but I don't have a better one." Weiss sighed, resting her forehead against Ruby's shoulder in her exhaustion. "Either way there's a list of things that can go wrong."

"Hey, nothing's going to go wrong. Like you said before, they'd rather hear it from you than the media." Ruby said optimistically.

"You've never heard of Murphy's law, have you?" Weiss sighed as she felt Ruby still for a moment, giving her the answer. "It says that if something can go wrong, it will. And it will happen at the worst possible time."

"That sounds… really pessimistic." Ruby said with a laugh. "I'm sure it'll be fine. Plus, it'll be good practice!"

"Wha- practice?" Weiss snapped her head back up to look at Ruby.

"Yeah, we're being trained to be adaptive to the situations we're placed in. The way I see it, there's only one question to ask: do you want to date me more than your father wants you not to?" Ruby asked gently and quietly.

Weiss was once again surprised by Ruby's clear perception of the situation and thought hard about Ruby's question. There was absolutely no doubt that her father would want nothing less than to have his daughter revealed to be a lesbian, but she knew that somewhere deep down he cared about her happiness. Just maybe that would help when he met Ruby.

"Yes. I want to date you. So much more than even you probably know." Weiss responded quietly, enveloped in the moment.

"Can you show me then?" Ruby asked as a blush came up on her smiling face.

Weiss didn't need to be asked twice. She leaned forward and closed the space between them. Their lips met tenderly at first, tentatively feeling out the others rhythm. Ruby's lips were like soft feathers as they ghosted across Weiss's repeatedly, small pecks that stirred an ache in Weiss that she immediately moved to remedy.

Weiss tasted Ruby's lips and her cherry lip balm. Ruby let out a soft moan as she opened her lips and met Weiss's tongue with her own. Weiss moved closer, pulled Ruby tighter in her embrace as she closed the space between their lips, their tongues dancing together in perfect harmony.

This time Weiss felt herself moan as Ruby captured her tongue and gently sucked while still twirling hers around it. Weiss broke the kiss only to take a breath before returning to their previous position, surprising Ruby in the process.

Some seconds or hours passed as they explored each others mouths, tongues dancing quickly, then lazily as they both slowly became accustomed to each others wordless communication, their hands forgotten in their embrace until Weiss felt her hand roam over the clasp of Ruby's bra beneath her rather thin shirt. At the same time she realized Ruby's hand was gently resting just under the bottom hem of her shirt, keeping them pressed tightly together.

Weiss gasped as she broke the kiss and buried her face in Ruby's shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" Weiss breathed not exactly sure what she was sorry for. She was sorry that she had made a move on Ruby without her consent, that they were in a public place, or that she stopped Ruby from going farther, or all those mixed up together. Regardless, she felt terrible. "I'm so sorry…"

"Hey… there's nothing to be sorry for…" Ruby breathed as she continued to monitor her breathing as it returned to normal. After a brief pause a thought occurred to her. "So how are we going to do this?"

"Well, the first few days of the break is our window to talk to my father here in Vale, otherwise we have to go all the way out to Vacuo." Weiss responded, moving out of their embrace but taking Ruby's hand as she did so. She looked out over the expanse of growing darkness that fell over the distant forests, her expression pensive as she thought. "Provided my worst case scenario doesn't play out… you can go back to visit your family for the rest of the break."

"That sounds good, but what would you do?" Ruby asked, noticing Weiss's word choice in the last part of the sentence.

"I could go back to the dorms, or my parents own a penthouse in Vale I could stay at." Weiss said. "I don't really want to be alone though, so I'll probably end up back at the dorms…"

"W-well, if that's what you want to do…" Ruby mumbled, moving closer to Weiss. "But if you felt up to it… you could come to my place. We have more than enough space and Blake will be coming. And we could do stuff together since we don't have to study for anything."

"Is that an invitation to stay at your house for the remaining part of the break?" Weiss asked, keeping her voice from betraying her true emotions.

"Yeah, I mean… if you'd rather do other stuff, I get it. But I'd really really like it if you came." Ruby said nervously.

Weiss cracked a smile to let Ruby know she shouldn't be nervous. "Would your family be there?"

"Yeah, my uncle is supposed to visit on the last day since he'll be coming back from a hunt then." Ruby said. "And Yang will be there obviously, and my Dad will be there, but he's on call for work so he'll probably be in and out the whole time. Will you come?"

"I'll come." Weiss said, answering with Ruby's words. "Because you are the first person to ever invite me somewhere in such a convoluted manner."

"I wasn't twitching…" Ruby blanked at Weiss's vocabulary causing her to giggle.

"I'll show you the definition of that word later." Weiss said after she'd stopped her giggles. "Thanks for inviting me to your house, Ruby. It honestly means a lot to me."

This time it was Ruby's turn to giggle. "You're so cute right now I just can't bear it anymore!"

"Hey!" Weiss huffed in embarrassment at Ruby's statement.

"So cute!" Ruby continued giggling as Weiss stomped back to the door to the school. The only indication of her lack of anger being the gentle grip she maintained on Ruby's hand.


	28. Chapter 28

"Alright, bye Yang!" Ruby said as she gave her sister a hug. "I'll see you in a few days."

"I'll miss you so much!" Yang said as she squeezed Ruby tighter, eliciting a wheeze as Ruby had the breath constricted from her lungs.

"I think you should let go now." Blake said as she turned another page in her book as she waited by the door.

"Yes, please refrain from killing our leader. School isn't over yet." Weiss said from her bunk where she sat reclined with her Dust Mechanics text book.

"Don't you mean girlfriend?" Yang teased, but released Ruby nonetheless.

"That too." Weiss said, her tone just as serious as Blake's while she too turned a page in her book.

"Wow, you make it sound like you don't care." Yang continued slyly. "Maybe you really don't like Ruby that much."

Ruby's face fell slightly at her sisters words as she watched the conversation unfold. Weiss noticed this with a quick glance and sighed at Ruby's habit to take her sister seriously at almost every turn.

"No, I quite enjoy having your sister as my girlfriend." Weiss responded, keeping her voice as level as possible to avoid yet another rather personal embrace with Ruby in front of the rest of her team. "I just find its much easier to deal with you when I don't give any reaction. You get bored far too easily."

"She's right you know. You should work on your attention span." Blake spoke up as she closed her book on her bookmark. "Come on, or we'll be late for the airship."

"Oh, this isn't over!" Yang laughed threateningly as she walked out of the room behind her partner.

"I think it is." Weiss said loudly so her voice would travel around the corner.

"Bye Yang!" Ruby called, obviously pretending her girlfriend and sister had parted on friendly terms.

"See ya Ruby!" Yang called back. "Oh, and if I somehow find out you two had too much fun, someone's gonna get hurt real bad!"

"Don't worry, we'll only have fun some of the time!" Ruby called back.

Weiss sighed at Ruby's tendency to miss the double entendres that Yang used in every other sentence. Then she smiled at an idea that popped into her head and called out to Yang. "Yeah, what she said!"

Loud footsteps were heard stomping back down the hall and Yang rounded the corner with eyes red as the blood coursing through them.

"What did you just say?" She growled at Weiss who simply smirked in response.

The quiet in the room was very still for a few long moments before Weiss casually pressed her scroll to wake it up.

"I can't quite remember the exact wording…" Weiss smiled as she tapped her finger along the edge of the scroll feigning thoughtfulness. "Was it something like three minutes?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Yang growled, her initial surge of anger already dissipating and her eyes growing lighter as they moved back to their normal color.

"Well the airship docks are a ten minute walk away." Weiss smiled even larger as the number in the top corner of her scroll's screen incremented. "You now have two minutes to get there before its supposed to depart."

Yang's face went pale and her eyes snapped wide as she realized she'd made a big mistake. Her luggage was with Blake who was probably already boarding and here she was, going to miss the flight.

"What am I going to do?" She almost yelled as she turned between the door and the window, as if jumping out from the third story window would cut down drastically on her travel time.

"Run." Weiss said quietly.

"This isn't over! And remember my offer." Yang hesitated to see Weiss nod seriously before she bolted out the door as quickly as she'd come.

"Do you think she'll make it?" Ruby asked after a moment as she watched Yang bolt down the path outside the building.

"Normally, no. But all flights were delayed fifteen minutes due to the Vale air show that happened this morning." Weiss said, turning another page in her book. Really she was just occupying her hands with something since it felt awkward to just do nothing.

"So…" Ruby thought hard about the situation before a smile creeped onto her face. "You are one crafty girl."

"I try." Weiss responded with a grin of her own to Ruby.

"Maybe some punishment is in order." Ruby said, leaning over to Weiss's ear seductively.

Weiss's breath hitched in her throat for a second before she remembered who she was dealing with. "So… cookies?"

"Cookies." Ruby responded before giving Weiss a quick peck on her cheek and walking to the closet to grab their jackets.

"You do realize you're playing with fire, right?" Weiss asked as she let out a long shaky breath and slipped her jacket on.

"No I'm not, I'm playing with _Weiss_!" Ruby said with a straight face, earning her a playful punch in the arm.

"Then just know that one day you'll get freezer burned." Weiss said to a silent Ruby. After a moment of silence, she couldn't wait any longer. "Seriously, nothing?"

"Sorry, that was pretty bad." Ruby laughed lightly as she closed the door behind them.

"Well I'm sorry if I can't use puns like your sister can." Weiss huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

"I don't think anyone can, to be honest." Ruby admitted honestly.

After a moment and a shared glance, they both broke out into giggles that lasted until they had reached the top of the long walkway that descended the Beacon Cliffs into Vale.

"Be careful not to fall, I don't think there's a landing strategy that would work for this height." Weiss commented, looking out and down into the city.

"Awesome!" Ruby laughed.

It was odd to Weiss that she felt a sense of accomplishment at making Ruby laugh, and yet she wasn't as irritated as she'd normally be since she'd actually been serious about her warning. She shrugged it off as being around the girl far too often to be healthy the past few days on top of the stress of the next couple of days.

"Well, lets not just stand here and freeze." Weiss walked off, leaving Ruby to follow her.

They had traveled only a few meters when Ruby piped up nervously.

"Hey, Weiss… I was thinking… since there's nobody around, maybe we could… um…"

"Ruby, calm down. There's no reason to be nervous. At least not yet." Weiss cut in, stopping Ruby's rambling. Ruby took an audible deep breath and continued.

"I thought maybe we could hold hands?" Her question hung in the air for a moment before it sunk into Weiss's head.

"I suppose the chances of us being seen are relatively slim." Weiss nodded her answer to Ruby who quickly linked her fingers through Weiss's. "But we can't walk through Vale like this. Only until the end of this path, have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal." Ruby replied with a peck on Weiss's cheek. Weiss blushed and looked away from Ruby as she continued on down the path. She was currently on the side of the path with the cliff rising to the sky, leaving the view of the horizon past Ruby. She waited for the blush to subside before looking back at the vista.

To say that the landscape was beautiful in the winter would be an understatement. The city looked like a very large Christmas village with snow-topped buildings and vehicles parked along most streets. In the massive park near the cliff, small black and red dots moved around as they used their sleds to slide down the hill. Nearby the hill were several larger squares that were the roofs of food stands that had been erected to provide the sledders with hot chocolate, coffee, and donuts. The trees in the park and the forests beyond the city glistened as the snow and frost covering them reflected the sunlight from the clear day.

Then there was Ruby. Her hood was pulled up over her hair just enough to hide her ears from the cool breeze. Her face's expression looked unconcerned and content as she walked with her hand slowly swaying with Weiss's. Her silver eyes reflected the sun, making them sparkle and giving them a sense of continual motion. Her mouth turned up slightly in the smallest of smiles. And her cheeks maintained a barely there blush as if to show the power of the moment between the two of them. All together, she looked happy. More happy than Weiss remembered ever seeing her.

"Hey, something wrong?" Ruby asked quietly, squeezing her hand just slightly enough to get Weiss's attention.

"Oh, nothing… just admiring the view." Weiss shrugged, looking away.

"By chance, was I part of that view?" Ruby teased, bumping her shoulder into Weiss's.

"That's rhetorical." Weiss answered, ignoring the blush that returned to her face.

Ruby giggled in response. She leaned over and rested her head on Weiss's shoulder as they walked, closing her eyes after getting comfortable. Weiss couldn't help but smile as she supported the gentle weight of Ruby's head. She felt her heart-rate going faster than normal but not as fast as she'd expected considering Ruby had her arm pressed into the side of her chest so she could rest comfortably. Weiss felt an emotion she'd describe as being protective over Ruby, but knew there was more than that beneath the surface. At the moment there was one thing Ruby was doing that not a single person had ever done for her throughout her life. Ruby was trusting her, she was depending on her, and because of that, Ruby was putting her faith in her and silently telling her _I'm all yours_.

"Love you, Weiss." Ruby whispered so quietly, Weiss didn't know if she'd been imagining it. It was something that was thrown around so easily in conversation, Weiss knew it might not be a big deal since Yang said it to Ruby multiple times a day with Ruby replying in kind. But no matter how much she tried to tell herself it wasn't a big deal, she could never put voice to her feelings.

So Weiss pretended she didn't hear and instead rested her head slightly on Ruby's in an attempt to wordlessly communicate a thanks to the scythe wielder for being there.

They continued to walk down the long path that zigzagged back and forth down the side of the cliff. At long last, they reached the bottom and Weiss reluctantly took a step away from Ruby. Her face was glowing brilliantly by now and she forced herself to ignore it.

"I guess we should go to the penthouse to wait for my father." Weiss said, turning her mind to the business at hand.

"How far is it?" Ruby asked, stretching her arms and looking down the path that led through the park into Vale proper.

"Just outside the park." Weiss answered. "Maybe if we're lucky and see him today we'll be able to go do something before we have to leave for Patch."

"Then its a date!" Ruby declared with conviction.

"Yes, its a date." Weiss smiled as she led the younger girl down the path, walking close enough that their hands brushed each other so often that they might as well have been holding hands to begin with.

It was a surprisingly short walk to the street and the massive hotel in front of them shone with its polished glass exterior. The top floor alone seemed different in that the windows didn't have any obvious breaks where the separate panes of glass normally would connect.

"Onward and upward…" Weiss mumbled as she pulled out her scroll for identification and passed it to the doorman. "She's with me."

"Of course, Miss. Please enjoy your stay." He replied while handing her scroll back and waving them into the fancy lobby.

Weiss ignored the front desk and walked directly to the elevator bank. She pulled a small key from her pocket and inserted it in a slot before pressing the up button and removing the key.

"What was that?" Ruby asked as Weiss pocketed the small piece of metal and stepped into the elevator that had opened.

"The key to the thirtieth floor." Weiss replied stiffly as the door closed behind Ruby.

The elevator rocketed upwards and after only a brief ride, the doors opened to a small hallway that led to a door with a simple black square on it.

Weiss pressed her thumb to the square and the door clicked open.

"Now, we wait." She said, stepping into the brightly lit room and stepping aside for Ruby to properly view the room.

Ruby's jaw dropped immediately.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

"Unfortunately, it's no joke." Weiss replied with a smile. She grabbed Ruby's arm and dragged her into the room, closing the door and reengaging the lock.


	29. Chapter 29

"I'm so bored!"

"Then do something."

"But that involves moving!"

"Then don't move."

"But I don't have anything to do!"

"Then don't do anything."

"But I'm so bored!"

The conversation had cycled around several times already, and Blake simply responded in turn, ignoring her teammate as per usual in favour of her new book she'd picked up the previous night. It was the sequel to the somewhat damning book she'd managed to keep hidden since her entrance to Beacon, and the series was now somewhat of a guilty pleasure to her. Ironically, that was actually part of this books subtitle.

She'd had the sense to hide the book behind a text book, but with Yang now in the same room, she'd have a hard time closing it without her deception being discovered. So she kept reading.

Unfortunately, this wasn't one of the types of books you'd want to read with other people in the room. And even more unfortunately, as if the gods of fate had conspired against her, she was currently reading a scene that she could picture all too clearly. Partly due to the busty blond laying on her back on the bench press with her arms laying back on the floor, affording her an unrestricted view of her teammates curves and partly due to the graphic content she was reading line by line, her nerves stood on end, tingling, in anticipation of something she knew she could never act on.

She carefully monitored her breathing and forced herself to focus on the page in front of her. She turned the page and stopped a frown from appearing on her face. It seems that the scene wasn't the typical one-and-done type that was normal. She checked her suspicions over the following pages before skipping back to the page she was on. It looked like the scene would last at least five rounds, and that meant she'd just scraped the tip of the iceberg in the last five minutes.

"Can't you think of something to do?" Yang whined as she leaned partially over the side of the bench so one knee and elbow rested on the ground, giving her an awkward appearance that was far to open for Blake's state of mind.

"No." Blake mentally celebrated her small victory as she started reading her book again. It would be a test of resilience to make it through this without complications.

"I know!" Yang shouted in triumph as she rocketed to her feet.

"Good for you." Blake ignored her teammate as she turned yet another page and started reading an exponentially more agitating second round of incriminating fiction.

She kept reading and finished only half the page when she felt the bed sink beside her and a hand on the top of her head. More precisely, she felt that hand start to rub her faunus ears that were currently outside of her bow's ribbon.

"Yang! Don't do that nooooow!" Her sentence turned into an involuntary purr as the tingling nerves in her body all lit up as if on fire.

"Y-Yang! St-stop! N-n-now's not a good t-time!" Blake protested though her body ignored her and moved even further toward her teammate.

Yang giggled at Blake's natural reaction to her and did as she asked. Blake let out a sigh of relief that ended up sounding like a groan as she closed her book along with her eyes and focused on keeping her breathing in check.

"If you ever do that again-" Blake started only for Yang to finish her sentence for her.

"I know, I know. I'll buy you dinner first." Yang said dismissively.

"Exactly…. Wait, what?" Blake couldn't believe what she'd thought Yang had just implied. Maybe her ears were playing tricks on her.

"Huh?" Yang asked, confused at Blake's confusion.

"Did you…" Blake started and paused to consider the outcome of the situation if she voiced her suspicions. "Never mind."

"Whatever, I think I'm going out for a bit. Need anything?" Yang asked while sorting through her closet to find a jacket.

"Do you have milk?" Blake asked. Yang shook her head in the negative in response. "Then that. Preferably one percent."

"Gotcha. Be back in a bit." Yang waved as she flipped the leather jacket she'd chosen over her shoulder.

With that, Blake found herself alone in Yang's room. She flopped back on Yang's bed and turned her back to the workout equipment that took up most of the rest of the room.

Really, she should have gone back to her own room she'd been given to use during her stay, but she was just too tired to move. But Yang's bed, though obviously clean from the crisp feel of the fabric and barely noticeable scent, had a comfortable feel that Blake couldn't describe. She thought carefully about it for a few moments before deciding it didn't really matter that much. Blake yawned as she realized she hadn't slept as much as she would have preferred the previous night, and decided to remedy it with a nap. After only a minute, she felt herself start to drift and she curled up as she normally did. She fell asleep shortly after, calmly hugging Yang's pillow in the crook of her neck.


	30. Chapter 30

Despite the fact that Ruby had bounced around the entire floor looking at everything and anything that caught her eye, and appearing as excitable as a young child in doing so, Weiss could tell that underneath the facade she wasn't actually paying any attention to the room. And considering the reason they were there, she couldn't blame her.

"It's so cute!" Ruby crooned from the window where Weiss remembered there being a three inch tall tree among other fancy baubles.

"Ruby, you know you don't have to pretend to be okay." Weiss said from her spot on the couch as she flipped randomly through a news site on her scroll, paying as much attention to it as Ruby was to the room.

"… Sorry." Ruby dropped into the seat beside Weiss and leaned into her. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"You and me both, Ruby." Weiss admitted and gave Ruby a small hug.

"Do you know when they're coming?" Ruby asked even though Weiss had told her several times already.

"They should be here within an hour since the deal went through easier than expected." Weiss answered automatically, not caring that she had already told Ruby this information several times already. In fact, it helped her focus on what was now a quickly approaching confrontation.

They remained cuddled together, simply enjoying the warmth of each other for a while as they waited patiently for Weiss's family. They only had to wait ten minutes for the sound of the elevator door opening echo faintly from beyond the locked door.

"Alright, remember what we discussed." Weiss said, standing and turning toward the door.

Ruby nodded and followed Weiss, standing just behind and to the side of her.

The door clicked as the deadbolt was withdrawn and then swung open to reveal a rather tall man with shockingly white hair in a deeply contrasting black business suit talking to three women. His build was more athletic than you'd expect for someone who sits at a desk most of the day doing paperwork, but nothing like that of a career hunter. But what his body lacked in natural ability to threaten, his face made up for it. His dark gray eyes were sharp and piercing, looking as if they could puncture diamond with barely any effort. His face was cleanly shaven and had not a single scar, but the sharp jaw line and definition of his chin seemed to speak of a hidden strength that was far beyond comprehension. To top it all off, his nose had a small imperfection as if it had been broken many times over the years it had been part of his body.

Of the three women, only one looked slightly older than the others. She wore a black cocktail dress and carried a purse so small there could only be one or two things contained within it. Her hair was a light brown, falling to her shoulders, while her eyes shone a brilliantly bright green that sparkled in the sunlight from the wall sized window behind Ruby and Weiss. She was just an inch or two taller than Weiss and her posture seemed far too impatient for the kindness her face seemed to exude.

The other two women were dressed identically in a simple gray blazer and knee length pencil skirt. The one talking to who Ruby assumed was Mr. Schnee, had a face that looked almost identical to Weiss's, though without the scar. Her hair was also much shorter like the woman wearing the dress, and most of it was tucked back into a bun with only a few strands left to hang loose. The second major difference between the girl and Weiss was, and Ruby reprimanded herself for noticing, the size of her chest.

The last woman had her black hair in a clean bun and carried a clipboard which she was writing on as the group walked in. She was almost as tall as Mr. Schnee, making her the tallest woman in the room since everyone else was around Weiss's and Ruby's height.

"Good afternoon Father." Weiss said, drawing attention to herself and Ruby. She continued, nodding briefly to each other person. "Mother, Winter, Hazel. This is Ruby Rose, who I'm sure some of you may know of."

"Ah, yes. Hazel, that is enough for now. We'll be down shortly." Mr. Schnee spoke with authority, cutting off his conversation abruptly at noticing that they had company.

"Of course." The black haired woman bowed shortly and left, closing the door behind her.

"As I was saying, this is Ruby Rose." Weiss reiterated. "Ruby, these are my parents and older sister, Winter."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Schnee, Mrs. Schnee, Winter." Ruby said exactly as she'd been instructed.

"I'm sure it is." The brunette answered before walking over to one of the nearby couches and carefully sitting on the edge as the Weiss's doppelganger moved to stand behind the piece of furniture.

"Please take a seat, father." Weiss gestured to the open spot beside her step mother and motioned for Ruby to follow as she sat in the couch facing opposite.

Ruby quickly sat beside Weiss, perhaps closer than she should have, but knew Weiss had warned her about any type of fidgeting so she didn't move a muscle.

"Very well, you said you have an important issue to discuss with us." Mr. Schnee stated clearly as if talking to his daughter was just another business deal.

"Yes, although my purpose for this conversation is less a discussion than a formal notification." Weiss said, hoping to make it clear that the matter she had yet to bring up was not up for debate. She took a deep breath and glanced quickly at each of her family members in turn before taking a deep breath. "I assume you are aware of Ruby's record at Beacon?"

"Yes." Winter replied, pulling her scroll from her blazer's pocket. "Ruby Rose, entered Beacon two years early by two recommendations from the headmaster and an active huntress. Team leader of Team RWBY, consisting of herself, her sister, you, and one other who we seem to have very little information about. Current grades average an A minus, an improvement from the midterm average of C. Hometown is in Patch where her uncle, a teacher at Signal, trained her in the use of scythe type weaponry. No information on him either. Her father works as a paramedic at Patch's only hospital. No known White Fang connections to speak of."

"Right, well that is sufficient." Weiss waved her sister off the file that inevitably went on to list everything that could be deduced from Ruby's paper trail. "What I wished to notify you of is that I am… a…"

"What have I taught you about finishing your sentences?" Mrs. Schnee reprimanded. "Honestly it's like your trying to tell us you're dying."

"Not that far off." Weiss mumbled so only Ruby could hear before clearing her throat to solidify her resolve. "I'm a lesbian."

The atmosphere at that moment could have been shattered like glass. Weiss's last words echoed slightly in the loud silence of the room as each Schnee looked at her with a varying degree of surprise and frustration.

"Ruby is my girlfriend, so I'd appreciate it if you'd be kind with your choice of response." Weiss finished, breaking the silence.

"I… see…" Mr. Schnee frowned at his daughter, but refrained from speaking until he had his thoughts sorted out. "How long has this… activity… been going on?"

"Not long enough for the media to catch on." Winter answered for Weiss. "It would have been a headline all over the net."

"I see…. Well, I suppose… I could wait out this phase of yours, but I suggest you outgrow it quickly. In one months time you are to meet Bruce Noar, the sun of the CEO of Noar and Associates. He has placed a valid bid for your hand. I am currently revising the contract that will close this deal." Mr. Schnee stated as he stood. His eyes focused in the distance over the two girl's heads. Mrs. Schnee followed him silently to the door with her head bowed, clearly avoiding looking at the couple. Her father had just opened the door when Weiss finally found her voice and stood up.

"No!" She said loudly and firmly.

"I'm sorry?" Her father turned back to her. His face was calm, but his eyes spoke of a raging fury.

"I said, no." Weiss repeated. "I'm not going to let you decide my life anymore. It will be my marriage, so I will choose who I marry, even if it is another girl!"

"If that is what you'd like to believe, you are a greater fool than I believed you were. In time you will out grow this… nonsensical phase, and then you will continue on the path I've set for you. You will marry Mr. Noar. And you will produce the next heir to this family's fortune." He said and left the room without so much as a goodbye.

Weiss felt like she'd had her lungs squeezed into little balls. She knew her father would be angry but for him to say anything like that without a smile on his face, she knew he was beyond what anyone could call angry. He was livid.

"Winter?" Weiss asked as Winter moved to follow her parents.

Without turning, Winter took a deep breath and spoke in a tone Weiss hadn't heard for a long time. "You only live once… enjoy it while you can. It's not my place to judge how you choose to live."

"Thanks Winter… I hoped you'd understand. Do you think they'll come around?" Weiss asked, Ruby still following her girlfriends instructions to keep quiet.

"No. Not by themselves if its even possible." Winter replied regretfully.

"Oh… I was afraid of that." Weiss sat back on the couch beside Ruby and leaned her head onto her shoulder.

Winters footsteps clacked over to the door and stopped for the brief moment it took to say her last words to her little sister. "Keep clucking, little duckling. And it was a pleasure to meet you Ruby."

Weiss smiled at the words and took a deep breath to help calm her shaking hands as the door closed gently.

"Well, that was a thing." Ruby said awkwardly into Weiss's hair as she kissed the top of her head.

"You sound like your sister. Stop it." Weiss said without any real conviction as she raised her head to give Ruby a kiss.

"You won't really get married, will you?" Ruby asked after a moment of silence and thought.

"No." Weiss said clearly with as much force she could muster. "I never really saw myself in a wedding dress. But I suppose now…"

"Oh…" Ruby sunk at Weiss's words.

"Let me finish, you dolt!" Weiss said, giving Ruby a small peck on her cheek. "I suppose I can see myself getting married one day, but I have no intention of doing it to close a business deal."

Ruby perked up a little at the heiress's words. "So you won't marry that guy your dad talked about?"

"No. I most definitely will not marry him." Weiss responded firmly. Ruby's lips met hers and she felt her trembling stop as warmth radiated through her from Ruby's contact. She knew her father would most certainly be a problem, but right now as she felt Ruby's lips mesh so… perfectly with hers, she couldn't possibly care less.

When they broke apart, Ruby looked around at the massive apartment. She'd obviously gotten much happier after hearing Weiss's words.

"So… we're all alone in an apartment at the top of a building with nobody else. I wonder what we could do for fun to blow off some steam before we head to Patch tomorrow?" Ruby said, walking her fingers up Weiss's far arm as they remained in their position just cuddling.

"You are a horrible tease, you know that?" Weiss pushed Ruby away playfully as she made some space between them.

"Yup." Ruby giggled, stealing a quick kiss before jumping up and flashing away with her semblance.

"Ruby! Get back here!" Weiss yelled as she leapt to her feet and looked down the path of rose petals falling through the air.

"Nope! Catch me if you can!" Ruby called as she pranced away from Weiss tauntingly.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled, barely suppressing a giggle as she took off after her partner. "I'm going to catch you!"


	31. Chapter 31

"Thanks again, Jack!" Yang called as she left the small convenience store, bag in one hand, jug of milk in the other. The sun was just above the horizon, casting its red rays of light across the thick clouds in the distance, making them glow brightly while Yang was left in near darkness of the street lights.

Not that the light mattered. She'd spent most of the past few years walking the streets of Patch at night and there was nothing on the rather small island to be afraid of. Even the Grimm that lived in the sparse forest kept to themselves in favour of self preservation over their violent natures.

Yang spun the bag she was carrying around in circles, using the weight of the snacks she'd bought to allow her to spin the handles around a single finger. There was something calming about her hometown that reached deeper than the lack of Grimm and criminal activity. It was as if the island itself took a deep breath at the end of the day and relaxed into the night. It was her favourite time to simply walk.

There wasn't much that she had to think about, but that didn't mean she walked home quicker. Quite the opposite in fact. It was because she only had a few things to think about that she barely moved down the street as the remaining daylight quickly faded into darkness.

The first of the things she thought about were her friends. Not the new ones she'd made at Beacon, but her old friends that she'd known before. Most of them had gone to other schools and hadn't kept in touch. The few that followed her to Beacon had been divided into other teams and she only saw them every so often in passing. It wasn't as if she was lonely, far from it, but Yang felt a small amount of regret that not a single one of them had kept in contact after they'd been split up.

Of course, she'd already told all that to Blake. And in a moment of insight, she'd responded that they must not have been very good friends. Yang hadn't had anything to say to that. She wanted to argue, but deep down she knew Blake was right. They had been school friends. She hadn't often seen any of them outside of school save the few group projects they'd done. That was due in part to her training at the local gym to hone her boxing skills, but mainly due to the fact that they didn't actually have many common interests.

Maybe that was why she found herself spending more and more time away from her old habits since getting into Beacon. Ruby herself had once commented on how it was strange to see her in the room so often or to see her just talking to other students in the halls. At Beacon everyone seemed to have a goal, a reason to be there, and Yang was no different. The only thing was that she couldn't actually put that reason into words.

Due maybe to her somewhat lacking vocabulary, or just the limitations of language itself, all she could honestly say is that the feeling that she had in her gut told her she was in the right place and going the right direction. But when asked, she would always shrug off this inexplicable feeling and answer that she was a thrill-seeker. It was easier and quicker to say, while easily being supported by her personality, so she had no large problems with it.

The only thing she'd started to notice when she'd answer someone's question about her reason for being at Beacon, was the odd look that would cross Blake's face for just an instant. It never came up in conversation between them, and she doubted Blake would answer if she asked, so Yang never brought it up. But there were definitely some negative thoughts that ran through Blake's head. Whether it be doubt, scorn, exasperation, or disappointment, Yang could never tell. Just that there was something that Blake disliked about her answer.

Yang broke out of her thoughts as the door in front of her opened, a man in the door with a sandwich dangling from his mouth as he pulled on a black leather jacket.

"Hey Dad. You gotta go again?" Yang asked as she stepped aside to let him past.

"The island never sleeps. If I'm not back tomorrow, I left some lien on the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Okay?" He spouted quickly as he fished his keys out of his pocket and jumped into his rugged old pickup truck.

"Sure. Be careful." Yang waved as he backed out of the driveway. His tires crunched the sand and ice on the street while he waved a salute to his daughter before peeling off towards the center of the island.

Yang stood there for a moment before she stepped through the still open door and into the dark house.

She didn't bother turning on a light as she walked around putting the snacks and milk away in the kitchen. She knew the house by heart since it never changed, not that there was much to maneuver around to begin with. The cupboards were essentially barren save the odd can or appliance here or there. The fridge wasn't much better with its burnt out light and half eaten loaf of moldy bread.

Normally there was much more food in the place, but since both her and Ruby were away at Beacon and their uncle had his own job teaching at Signal, the only one at the house was their father. And he spent most of his time on call, meaning he tended to favour fast food over home-cooked meals.

She left the kitchen and went upstairs to her room to find Blake cutely sleeping on her bed. Smiling at her partner and keeping her urge to squeal in check, she went to her dresser to get a pair of her pajamas. She left for the bathroom down the hall, making sure to close the door so any noise that might escape the bathroom wouldn't disturb her teammate.

She quickly showered and changed in the washroom, tossing her old clothing into the basket she'd toss into the wash later on. She was about to open the door when her instincts sensed movement on the other side. She flung the door open to find Blake holding her weapon as she looked through the darkness.

"Jeez, you scared me." Blake said, letting the weapon rest on her back again.

"I should say the same thing." Yang laughed as she clicked the bathroom's light off and waited a moment for her eyes to adjust. "What's with the weapon?"

"I thought I heard noises from around here." Blake said. When she saw Yang's raised eyebrows, she sighed. "I got a little scared and training kicked in."

"So cute!" Yang squealed, reaching out to touch the kitty ears atop Blake's head. Blake dodged out of the way of her hand and walked out of reach.

"No. I'm going to bed now." Blake said, walking to her own room and closing the door with a not so subtle slam.

Yang rolled her shoulders back, the joints cracking slightly as she walked back to her room directly across from Blake's.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me." She called, knowing Blake would hear her even through the closed door.

She found her bed still warm from Blake and relaxed while pulling up a thin sheet. She fell asleep faster than she ever had before.


	32. Chapter 32

"I give up, Ruby." Weiss called tiredly from the large bed she'd collapsed on.

"Then say it!" Ruby replied from who knows where.

"I'm not saying it." Weiss argued as she pulled herself up onto a pillow.

"Then I'm not accepting your surrender!" Ruby said as a pillow flew from across the room and landed neatly on Weiss's face. Weiss tossed the pillow to the floor and sighed.

"Fine! I give up!" Weiss took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Ruby is the fastest, most talented huntress there is. And her pillow throwing proficiency is god-like."

"Keep going!" Ruby cheered from closer this time. "Just like I told you!"

Weiss let out another sigh and rubbed her temple lightly. "And I'm the luckiest girl in the world because she's my girlfriend."

"And…?"

"She's the cutest in all of Remnant… _for reals, yo_." Weiss grimaced at the slang but then felt something soft brush her cheek.

"Nope." Ruby giggled from beside her. Weiss hadn't even noticed her getting onto the other side of the bed but wasn't really surprised by the action. She kept her eyes closed, choosing to enjoy the darkness.

"What are you on about now?" Weiss asked, not in the mood for Ruby's games anymore.

"You know…" Ruby whispered lightly, her breath tickling Weiss's ear and making her shift slightly. "I think you're the cute one right now."

"What do you mean? I'm not cute." Weiss argued, not realizing Ruby had been baiting her. "My personality is caustic at best, I almost never smile, I'm often rude, I'm not skilled at making casual conversation, and the only person I can talk to for more than a few minutes is you. And that's because you're the one talking most of the time."

"Nope." Ruby quipped again, slowly wrapping her arms around the heiress who chose not to object to the intimacy this time.

"No what, Ruby?" Weiss asked, wondering which of her statements Ruby was arguing.

"I think you're cute." Ruby said, her voice as happy as ever. "Sure you're not the best at talking to people, but I can tell what you're really thinking."

"Stop talking nonsense." Weiss replied.

"See? Right there." Ruby whispered while settling her head on Weiss's shoulder. "You were actually happy that I know you so well."

"I…" Weiss hesitated before answering. She was slightly surprised that Ruby actually did know her that well. "I… guess."

"Gah, I just love that tiny little smile you get sometimes!" Ruby hugged Weiss tighter, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek in the process.

Weiss yawned, the comfort of the bed getting the better of her. Ruby released her and helped her sit up. "I'm going to get ready for bed. You should too."

"Okay." Ruby replied as Weiss left.

Weiss quickly changed into something comfortable and returned to find Ruby in her pajamas, sitting on the bed.

"So which bed would you like?" Weiss asked, referring to the two other rooms on the floor that each had a bed in them.

"This one!" Ruby flopped back onto the bed, bouncing up slightly from the force of her movement. "It's so comfy!"

"Oh… okay." Weiss turned and took two steps before she stopped, a simple question popping into her mind. It wasn't something that she would ever think of normally, and she would sooner crush the idea back down into her head… but when it came to Ruby it seemed as if a lot of the things she'd never even considered seemed oddly appealing. And it definitely wasn't something a Schnee would ever ask… but at the rate she was going she wouldn't be one for long anyway. Her father's angry eyes flashed across her memory as fuel for her impulsive sentiment.

She turned to face Ruby who rolled to her side at Weiss's halt. "Um… Ruby… would you mind if I… maybe… shared? Just for tonight?"

Ruby didn't answer immediately, instead taking her time to get out of the bed and approach Weiss.

"Your so cute right now I could just eat you up!" Ruby whispered, attacking Weiss's lips with a passion Weiss had doubts she'd ever get used to while Ruby's arms wrapped themselves around her.

Ruby broke the kiss and Weiss found herself speaking even though she knew she wasn't safe to do so at the moment. Ruby had her chin rested against Weiss's shoulder so Weiss didn't have to do more than whisper.

"Don't joke about eating me unless you're prepared to do it." Weiss taunted, knowing Ruby would be completely clueless as to her true motives. In the back of her mind, she was questioning what she was doing giving voice to the subject she knew would eventually become part of their relationship if it managed to last long enough.

"Uh… what? I mean… um…" Ruby stuttered as Weiss stepped out of her hug and walked around her to slip under the covers.

"That's payback for earlier." Weiss told Ruby as she patted the bed beside her. She mentally shook herself for saying something so awkward. "I was joking."

"Oh… you sort of surprised me there." Ruby laughed awkwardly as she circled the bed and got in on her side. "But I still love you."

"I love you too." Weiss mumbled, her eyes already closed. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Ruby, pulling her into a comfortable cuddle. "Goodnight."

Ruby pressed her lips to Weiss's forehead in response. Soon after Weiss found herself drifting to sleep with the calming warmth of her girlfriend in her arms, sure that she was smiling more than she had in years.


	33. Chapter 33

"Huh?" Weiss snapped awake, the ceiling above her barely illuminated with the light of the early dawn. She stared up at it as she took in the sounds around her. Ruby's breath was still slowly alternating as she remained asleep and the ventilation hummed almost inaudibly as it pushed freshly heated air into the suite.

The ceiling flashed brighter for a second just before a quiet rattling sounded beside her head. Weiss reached blindly, not wanting to move lest she accidentally wake Ruby from the movement. Her fingers found her scroll and brought it to her face.

There was a single missed voice-mail with the time-stamp reading only a minute prior to the time in the top corner.

_Odd… who would leave a voice-mail at this time?_ Weiss wondered as she turned the speaker volume to its lowest setting and loaded the message.

"Weiss." Her sister's voice sounded fake, as if she was putting on an act while leaving the message. "As of now, you are officially engaged to Mr. Bruce Noar. The wedding will take place on January the twenty first. You will be collected for the ceremony and will not be returning to Beacon afterward. Have a nice day."

Weiss was frozen. Her phone was silent against her ear, the usual end of the message evidently not reached. She cursed her father over and over as she wondered why it was her that had to take over the company when her sister was more than capable. But that was the problem. Even though she was capable, she couldn't produce an heir. It was the only reason she'd been bumped to the side in favor of her younger sibling. And Weiss hated it.

"I'm so sorry, Weiss…" Winter's voice continued in a whisper as if she was being careful not to be overheard. "I'll… send a copy of the contract when I can… you know what to do…. Good luck little duck."

The phone beeped and Weiss hung the phone up before it started to recite the automated mailbox options. She couldn't decide if she liked her sister at the moment. On one hand, if she hadn't gone to a college party with her friends, she wouldn't have been in the accident that almost killed her and she would have remained the heiress to the family company. But now she'd basically done the only thing that could help Weiss get out of the arranged marriage. She'd promised to give her access to the contract.

Weiss stared at the ceiling, thinking about the massive amount of work that had just been dumped on her shoulders. Maybe in another time before she'd met Ruby, she would have let it slide and just followed what her parents told her to do as she had always done. But now, she knew she'd be spending every waking moment going through what undoubtedly was a very, very long contract. The only comforting thought about the entire ordeal was how skilled she was at contract work.

Winter and a group of her college friends had once given her the nickname of Contract Killer when she'd gotten her father's company out of a business deal gone sour. That contract had been eight thousand pages long and had clauses for almost everything. Yet it only took two and a half days for Weiss to locate the lone loophole that allowed a clean exit by only looking over the shoulders of her sisters group. And she had found it after looping through the most insignificant section of the agreement twelve times, effectively nullifying it and creating a hole large enough for the official company lawyers to use in court.

Weiss noticed the first rays of the sun come out from behind the neighboring building and the whole suite suddenly started growing lighter as the light grew, flooding in the clear glass that surrounded the place.

"Ugh… turn off the light." Ruby grumbled while nuzzling her face into the blanket and curling up into a ball beside Weiss, her arms still firmly wrapped around her waist.

"That's the sun, Ruby." Weiss whispered, not really caring whether or not they got up just yet. It's not like she had the contract to work on at the moment.

"Turn it off." Ruby moaned. She shifted again and readjusted herself so one hand slipped under Weiss's nightshirt.

"Ruby!" Weiss jumped at the sudden contact. She went to grab Ruby's wrist and remove her hand but realized Ruby was giggling. She waited for a moment, realizing how quickly she'd gotten used to the unusual contact on her stomach. Ruby's warm hand felt comforting and Weiss felt the inclination to remove it leave her. After another moment she relaxed. "As much as I enjoy cuddling with you, we should get going. I don't really want to stay here much longer."

"Is there a problem? You seem tense." Ruby said, straightening out so she was still cuddled with Weiss but able to look up at her face at the same time.

"Yes, but its nothing to worry about right now." Weiss said shortly. "What I want to worry about now is what we're going to do with a whole day to ourselves."

Ruby smiled softly and curled up slightly while wrapping her leg over Weiss's. "Can we maybe just stay in bed for another few hours?"

"And miss all the trouble you could get us into?" Weiss mocked shock, making Ruby laugh. "I don't want to, but I suppose I could be convinced…"

Ruby took the bait and started peppering tiny kisses over Weiss's neck, her warm breath tickling the heiress as she moved. Several minutes and light moans later, Ruby decided to stop. "How was that? Persuasive enough for you?"

"Um… s-sure…" Weiss stuttered as she battled the part of her that wanted nothing more than to pin Ruby to the bed and do things that would be wildly inappropriate for their newly established relationship. Ruby settled back to her spot and Weiss calmed down. The feel of Ruby's warmth as she slowly breathed in and out while pressed against her side was almost too comforting to be real, letting the stress that had come with her sister's call sink away into the rays of the new day. As she relaxed, Weiss couldn't help but fall back to sleep. The fatigue from being waken prematurely overcoming her desire to leave the lavish penthouse.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**First off, thanks for reading! I'd like to thank every one of you that has followed and favourited this, you've made this my most popular story yet.**

**Now news...**

**For those looking for when I'll update, and what, I keep an update schedule on my profile. I normally post a date somewhere between 1-2 weeks ahead of the chapter release. I also make note of what I'm working on next so you know what my next update will be if I don't have an exact date.**

**I am releasing this chapter and the next one this week. Provided I keep up the current writing pace, I should be able to push out another two next week and the week after as well. I have a rough idea of where I'm taking this story, and I'm (pleased/disappointed [pick whichever you like]) to announce that the ending of this story is in sight (Use binoculars, its there. Trust me.). I never really imagined it would go this far (considering it started as a one-shot version of chapter 24) and get so much support. But it did and it has, so one final time until the next chapter: thank you for reading.**


	34. Chapter 34

"Ah, home sweet home!" Ruby sighed as she stepped up the curb towards the house.

Weiss took in the whole place at a glance and felt a nervous sweat form on the back of her neck. It was a normal-looking two story house, sitting on a small yard that meant the neighboring houses were very close on either side. The front lawn was uneven, with hills of snow that were created from long, uncut grass beneath.

The path from the curb to the deck in front of the door was cement that had cracked over the years with weeds growing up through them here and there. Along the house was what once must have been a flower garden but now held nothing but thistles that stood tall over the few inches of snow.

The house itself matched the yard perfectly. Peeling sky blue paint decorated the wooden paneling, emphasizing the neglect of the structure. Storm shutters were closed over a few windows while others were open to the light. As Weiss followed Ruby up the path, she noticed one of the visible basement windows had a piece of plywood nailed over it.

"It's a bit of a dump, isn't it?" Ruby asked nervously as they stepped up on the deck. It creaked ominously from their weight but otherwise gave no indication that it would be dangerous.

"I… wouldn't use those words…" Weiss said nervously as she looked back to take in the yard again. From this angle it looked even worse than it did from the street.

"I know it's not pretty, but I guess that's what we get for using the front yard as a training ground." Ruby shrugged and opened the door.

Inside, Weiss could tell that whoever lived there didn't do so often. Dust coated everything making the carpet appear light green except where it had been repeatedly walked over. The single small table in the hall had a layer of dust painting the dark wood gray and the board mounted above it with hooks had only a single clean hook as if only one person ever used it.

Ruby led Weiss up the stairs to the second level to find it was in only slightly better condition with what appeared to be a rather clumsy dusting job done on the single table in the hall. Ruby peeked her head into a partially closed door and then pushed it open for Weiss to see an empty room with an iron double bed and heavy wooden furniture that looked older than the house. This room matched the main floor's neglect save the bed sheets that seemed freshly washed and the carpet that looked to be recently vacuumed.

"That's Dad's room." Ruby explained as she continued down the hall. "He's probably working right now. He doesn't have a schedule so it's a general rule to be quiet on the second floor in case he's home and sleeping."

"I'll keep it in mind." Weiss said as she continued to process Ruby's house.

"This is Yang's room." Ruby said just as she tapped on the closed door. There was no answer so she opened it to reveal the freshly cleaned room. "She has the workout bench in here, so its sort of a knock first policy. Otherwise you can use it whenever you want."

"I don't really do weights." Weiss admitted to Ruby who spun quickly and grabbed Weiss's arm.

"Shh! I'm not sure if Uncle Qrow's here or not, but never let him hear that or you'll regret it!" Ruby said more seriously than Weiss had ever heard her. After Weiss nodded, Ruby relaxed and released her. "Okay, so Blake probably has the guest room across from Yang."

Ruby knocked and opened the door to find the room also freshly cleaned but much more generic, with cheaper looking furniture and only generic photos of nature hanging on the walls. Blake's suitcase rested near the foot of the bed as the only evidence that she was occupying the room.

"So we're next door then." Ruby said as she continued down the hall. She slowed at one door that had a window opposite and gently brushed the wood of the door with her hand before continuing to the end of the hall where four doors lined the three walls.

Weiss noticed a small faded sun painted on the door Ruby'd grazed as she walked by and couldn't help wonder what was behind the door that seemed to have been sealed shut, if the dust beneath the door was any indication. She decided against asking since she'd most likely find out sooner or later.

"The first door there is the washroom." Ruby pointed to the one Weiss had stopped in front of. "There's another downstairs off the kitchen if it's busy. The door at the end is to get to the basement, and these two are my room and another guest room."

"Why are the stairs to the basement up here?" Weiss couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"The guy who built the place was a bit paranoid, so these are the only stairs. But you can get there by jumping down a trapdoor under the kitchen table too." Ruby explained as she pulled open the door to her left.

No sooner had it opened an inch she pushed it shut slowly and groaned. Concerned, Weiss asked, "What's wrong?"

"A while back, I went hunting with Qrow and found a baby Boarbatusk. I wanted it as a pet, so I kept it in that room. Turns out I forgot that it sort of destroyed everything so the room is basically empty now." Ruby laughed awkwardly. "I guess it'll be the two of us in my room."

"Is… are you sure about that?" Weiss asked, stopping Ruby with her question. "I mean… are you sure it'll be okay with your father?"

"I honestly have no idea." Ruby replied after a moment of thought. "But Dad always told me to follow my dreams no matter what they were. He told me he'd always root for me even if I had to move across Remnant to do what I wanted to. I'm sure he'll be surprised to meet you, but I don't think he'd be mad."

Weiss sighed. From her words, she'd realized Ruby was probably more nervous about introducing Weiss to her father than she had been about introducing Ruby to hers. And her questioning the outcome of her introduction wasn't helping Ruby at all. So she said the only thing she could. "I trust you Ruby. If you think he'll be fine with us, then I believe you."

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby turned and gave her a hug but was trapped when she tried to pull away. "Um… Weiss?"

"Sorry." Weiss apologized. "I'm a little nervous myself."

"About meeting Dad?" Ruby guessed.

"Yes, and no. I'm also a bit nervous about seeing your room." Weiss blushed and released Ruby. "I've never actually been in someone else's room before."

"Really? You're nervous about that?" Ruby asked with a giggle.

"Don't laugh. It's just… it's not like the dorm or the penthouse." Weiss said, lacking the words to describe how sleeping in Ruby's room would be infinitely more intimate. Not to mention what might happen behind the closed door when she was in Ruby's domain. Or what Ruby might do if she felt comfortable enough.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and fight the blush that had crept up her face as she looked at the back of Ruby's turned head.

"I know what you mean, Weiss." She said as she gripped the door handle lightly. "I'm a little nervous too, but I think everything will work out."

"Okay…" Weiss didn't have any other words to give Ruby as she followed her into her room.

The room's walls were plastered with diagrams both hand drawn and digitally printed depicting various versions of scythes ranging from a simple farm tool with notes on the blade's angling to scythes similar to Ruby's with multiple forms and stowage methods. The place was freshly cleaned as if in preparation for her visit with not a speck of dust on the dresser or night table or vanity. Even the carpet was a rich vibrant red that stood out as if it was alive in the shifting rays of sunlight filtering in through the storm shutters.

Ruby threw the window open and pushed the shutters open to let the entire room glow gold with the setting sun. She turned to Weiss with a smile that spoke to her relief that her room was just how she'd left it. She walked back to the door as Weiss continued to take in the details of the small box of jewelery on her vanity and the engraving of the mirror that had her rose symbol repeating around the edge of the long circumference. Finally Weiss's eyes were drawn upward to the ceiling where she found herself gazing into one of the most spectacular paintings she'd ever seen.

The entire ceiling was a mural of the night sky as viewed from a telescope. There were translucent purple and green clouds of gas here and there, obscuring literally millions of tiny white pin pricks that seemed to create their own light source as if they were real stars. There was the depth of space in the painting that seemed as if it were impossible to tell just how far the ceiling stretched out above her as the stars shrunk in the distance to mere motes that seemed almost impossible to see.

"Wow…" Weiss breathed, not realizing she'd been holding her breath until her lungs were screaming at her for fresh air. Her eyes couldn't stop looking and drinking in the intricate details of the art as the more she looked, the more she saw as if the painting had transformed into the real night sky.

"I really missed this." Ruby agreed as she took her and Weiss's suitcases and dropped them to the floor at the foot of her bed.

"Who… who made this?" Weiss asked in awe as she tore her gaze from the ceiling to look at Ruby.

Ruby's face fell for a moment. "My mom… she spent an entire year in this room painting. It was only when she was done she told me that it would be my new room."

Weiss watched Ruby smile at the memory. She hadn't probed much into Ruby's past before since she felt as if it was a line she shouldn't cross, but now she had a feeling that Ruby was intentionally opening up and anything she asked would receive an honest answer.

"Was she nice?" Weiss asked in a whisper so as not to disturb the atmosphere.

"Yeah, she was the best." Ruby smiled wider as a small tear fell from her eye.

Weiss wiped it away and pulled Ruby into a gentle kiss as if to reassure her that everything was okay.

"I love you, Ruby." Weiss whispered gently as she pulled out of the kiss.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby smiled, her tears gone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. "I think I'm just tired from everything that happened today."

"Only you could be tired from sleeping in, then taking a nap on a plane." Weiss poked Ruby's side making her giggle.

"Stop!" Ruby giggled as Weiss poked her again, dodging around her defending hands. "Stop!"

Weiss smiled at Ruby as her giggles turned into full blown laughter and gasps as she struggled to breathe. Suddenly Weiss felt Ruby's hands grab each of her wrists and spin her around so she was falling backwards, rose petals falling in the air around her.

"Oof!" Weiss gasped as her head bounced on the bed. Ruby had pinned her down with her hands up near her shoulders making her feel extremely exposed while Ruby straddled her waist still gasping for breath.

Weiss looked up into Ruby's eyes nervously as she processed her position in her head. Ruby's eyes seemed searching as if silently asking a question that Weiss didn't have the answer to.

Weiss closed her eyes, knowing that up till now Ruby had not once purposely made a move on her and respected her space. But she knew, just as she knew how to breathe, that she could trust Ruby with everything. She realized just how much Ruby meant to her as Ruby's lips met hers in a gentle yet passionate frenzy.

Weiss felt her muscles relax as Ruby moved her hands up above her head, leaving her in a position that felt even more exposed than before, yet she couldn't actually bring herself to care. Ruby was always looking to her for help or guidance at school. But here and now, in the comfort of her home under the beautiful star-field her mother had painted, Ruby wasn't some child looking to better herself. She was just herself. An equal to Weiss in absolutely every aspect. And Weiss knew with certainty that her feelings toward Ruby weren't those of normal teenagers. She knew what she felt now would only grow with time and never disappear no matter how hard she might try to force it.

Ruby stopped the kiss with a quick peck to Weiss's lips, prompting her to reopen her eyes.

"Sorry… I…" Ruby started to apologize as she released Weiss but the heiress shook her head and grabbed Ruby's shoulders to keep her from leaving.

"I can't keep a secret from you, Ruby." Weiss said as she braced herself. She hadn't intended to tell Ruby about her problem, but not telling her felt as if she was just lying to her. "I'm going to be married on the twenty first."

"What?" Ruby asked, confused at what Weiss had just told her.

"My sister called this morning to tell me the contract was finalized. I'm being married off by my father as part of a business venture." Weiss said, the pain of her fear drawing tears out of her eyes and making her breathing shake.

"Shh…" Ruby leaned back down, kissing the tears from Weiss's cheeks. "What do you want to do?"

"I just want to stay here." Weiss answered honestly. Her breathing calming from Ruby's close proximity. "I want to go back to Beacon, become a huntress, and be with you."

"Weiss…" Ruby smiled almost sadly at the girl mere centimeters from her face.

"I love you so much, Ruby!" Weiss said more loudly as if to tell anyone listening at the door. "I never want to leave you!"

"Shh…" Ruby leaned down and kissed Weiss. "You don't have to. We'll think of something. What's the worst that could happen? You get kidnapped on your wedding day by your girlfriend?"

Weiss couldn't help the smile that spread on her lips at Ruby's words.

"As long as you don't insist I wear a sack over my head." Weiss joked, already feeling more at ease from Ruby's reassurance.

"Well, as long as you don't try fight me, I think we can manage to get you out of this. Especially if we work together." Ruby nodded.

"I think I like the sound of that. Together." Weiss said while Ruby got off of her. They moved into a more comfortable position and Ruby cuddled up to Weiss after pulling the covers up.

"Mm hmm." Ruby hummed, pressing a kiss to Weiss's shoulder as the two relaxed into the warmth of each other.


	35. Chapter 35

"So anyway, that's what Winter said." Weiss finished explaining her sister's voice-mail to Ruby as the two gathered supplies in the kitchen.

"Well, I guess there's nothing to worry about for a while. We can't do anything until she comes through anyway." Ruby said, heaving the bucket of water out of the sink and onto the floor. She tossed in a small yellow pellet and poured some green liquid in before tossing a few rags in as well. "No use worrying about it before we can do anything about it."

"I guess you're right." Weiss sighed. "So anyway, what are we doing with this stuff?"

"We're going to surprise my Dad." Ruby said with a smile. "Yang and Blake are asleep upstairs. I heard them get in about four in the morning. Dad came home an hour ago but you were in the shower then. He said his partner agreed to take his pager so he could get more than an hour of sleep since he's apparently been going for a few days already. He seemed basically dead and didn't even ask about who else was here, so he must have been exhausted."

"Okay then. I guess it couldn't hurt since he'll probably recognize me as a Schnee." Weiss said and helped Ruby take the bucket to the front hall.

"So, I'll go get the vacuum and you start dusting everything." Ruby said as she turned to leave.

"Are you sure the vacuum won't wake him up?" Weiss asked, remembering Ruby's warning to be quiet on the second floor while her father was sleeping.

"It won't." Ruby said confidently. "For some reason he only wakes up to talking, or things breaking. He's never been woken by the vacuum for some reason."

She shrugged and left Weiss to start her work. Weiss didn't question Ruby further and started her work that was also her duty back in the dorm. She quickly worked her way out of the entrance hall and into the living room. She took care while dusting the ancient looking cube of a television before she turned her attention to the furniture. She was about to use her glyphs to climb to the picture frames when a noise like a jet engine roared to life in the entrance hall.

She ran around the corner, wet rag in hand, to find Ruby standing beside a shop vacuum with a carpet attachment. She had noise canceling headphones over her ears and didn't notice Weiss standing at the doorway.

Weiss sighed and returned to her work now even more confused as to how Ruby's father could remain sleeping with that machine roaring.

Over the next hour, her and Ruby finished the first floor and took a break in the kitchen. After a glass of milk and some cookies, the two set to work on the second floor, entering only the empty room that was devoid of furniture. Weiss paused at the door with the sun on it as Ruby finished with the vacuuming.

"Weiss!" Ruby whispered harshly as she exited the room across from her own and almost tripped as she stumbled for Weiss.

"Be more careful!" Weiss whispered back after catching her girlfriend. "I was just going to ask about this room. Is there anything to clean inside?"

"Yeah, but I'll do it later, okay?" Ruby asked. "Nobody goes in there anyhow."

"If you're sure." Weiss answered, again getting the feeling she was missing something important.

"Just go to the basement. I'll come behind you. And whatever you do, don't mess with the black bench." Ruby said, shooing Weiss away from the door towards the end of the hall. "Do whatever you want to the other one."

Weiss followed Ruby's instruction, not too concerned that she was being frustratingly vague. The staircase turned out to be a spiral of steel without a single light the entire way down. The darkness was so pure that Weiss found herself carefully descending while holding the rail with a death-grip. Eventually she felt her foot tap solid cement and felt along the wall to a piece of wood she assumed was a door. After another moment of fumbling she found the handle and pushed it open to reveal a massive room that spanned almost the entire length of the house. A large old furnace was situated in the center of the room with an anvil set up as what she recognized as a home smithy. Along the long side of the room stretched a large black bench. On it were a variety of tools and components, only half of which Weiss had ever seen before and a fair few of them were products from her family's weaponry division. She was actually surprised at the sheer amount of equipment there was on the bench as well as how it was so clean it looked as if the bench had been placed there for show not an hour before. She turned to the other side of the room where a much shorter bench stretched.

This bench was painted with red highlights to the black and had fresh, unpainted plywood covering the work surface. One end of the bench was covered with a plastic cover and the rest had a healthy layer of dust that spoke to a few months of neglect. The floor of the place was immaculate but whether that was from regular care or Ruby starting down here, Weiss couldn't tell. She started dusting Ruby's bench as Ruby continued to clank her way down the stairs with the vacuum.

Weiss had just finished dusting the plastic cover when Ruby came through the still open door huffing slightly with the large circular device trailing behind her.

"Can I take the dust cover off?" Weiss asked, pointing to the plastic with her rag as Ruby pushed the vacuum into a corner.

"Sure. Don't worry about the stuff under it. That's my bench." Ruby said as she went up to the furnace and pulled on a pair of gloves. "I'm just going to check the furnace. Dad and Qrow always forget they should keep it clean to get it hotter."

"Be careful." Weiss replied returning to her task.

She pulled the plastic carefully to make sure she wouldn't pull anything off the bench but realized afterward that Ruby had thought of that when she'd put it on.

Under the sheet was four large crates filled to the brim with assorted components. One seemed to be for electrical parts, a second seemed to be for metal scrap, the third seemed to be for ammunition components judging by lengths of tubing and a sealed ammunition crate and vial of propellant. The fourth had a solid metal box lining the inside and held an assortment of hammers, wrenches, and pliers. Weiss noticed that the box on the inside was smaller than the outside and realized there were actually two smaller boxes under the main one.

Her curiosity moved her hand to the crate then she stopped. _I shouldn't be snooping in Ruby's stuff. I'll ask her later if I really want to know._

She moved away from the bench that was now dust free and found herself looking at a plain wooden wall that stood at the end of Ruby's bench. In it was another plain wooden door with a handle. She started reaching for the handle when Ruby yelled and a loud clang echoed through the room.

"Ow! Weiss! Stop! Ugh…" Ruby grunted as she fell out of the furnace and dashed over to Weiss, sweeping her arm around her and steering her away from the door.

"What's in there?" Weiss asked, alarmed at Ruby's reaction.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Ruby replied quickly. Under Weiss's piercing gaze she sighed and continued with a bit more honesty. "OK, there is stuff in there… but I want it to be a surprise."

"Alright." Weiss sighed and looked around. "So are we done then?"

"Just have to clean one more intake. Then I'll be done." Ruby said. She quickly stepped away from Weiss and realized the mistake she'd made in her rush to keep the door shut. "I'm so sorry, Weiss."

Weiss looked down to find black smudges staining her dress. Somehow, she'd seen something like this happening since they started their work and simply shook her head. "Ruby, Ruby, Ruby. What will I do with you?"

"Feed me cookies? Get me to do your laundry?" Ruby suggested quickly. "Just please don't yell at me!"

Weiss stopped and looked up at Ruby. "You think I want to yell at you?"

"No, I didn't mean… It's just that…" Ruby blurted, her mouth running faster than her brain.

"No, I get it." Weiss sighed. "I haven't always been the nicest of people."

"That's not at all-" Ruby started but Weiss interrupted her.

"It's fine. This was ready for the wash anyhow. I was expecting to get dirty today." Weiss said, hoping Ruby would stop her false flattery.

"Oh… okay then." Ruby said as a smile crept onto her face. "Then you won't mind if I do this!"

Ruby flashed away from her place, rose petals falling in a shower behind her as she scooped Weiss into a big hug that Weiss realized after a moment was actually Ruby rubbing against her so all the ash and coal stains on her would stain Weiss's outfit.

"Ruby stop!" Weiss objected as Ruby found a ticklish spot with her roaming hand. Ruby seemed to notice as she grinned evilly.

"I guess this'll be payback for yesterday!" Ruby announced as she attacked Weiss's side with delicate fingers forcing Weiss to burst into laughter and swat at Ruby's hand while her other was wrapped around her neck.

"Ruby… ahaha… I can't… hahaha… stand up anymore!" Weiss choked out in between gasps of laughter.

Ruby felt Weiss's legs wobble and give out as she continued her assault. But since Weiss was quite light, Ruby held her in place and continued till Weiss fell silent gasping for breath and clutching her free arm around her ribs. Ruby quickly picked her up and placed her down on her newly cleaned workbench.

"You're… the… worst…" Weiss said between gasps as she caught her breath. She had one arm draped over her forehead to shield her eyes from the fluorescent light above her.

"Nope." Ruby said and Weiss moved her arm just in time to see Ruby sweep her shirt up off her stomach and lean down. Ruby blew a raspberry on Weiss's stomach that sent tingles shooting to all of Weiss's limbs. Weiss burst out into laughter again and arched her back as Ruby stopped as if wanting her to continue. She fell back to the plywood breathing hard and glaring at her girlfriend. "Now I'm the worst!"

Ruby giggled even as her face had taken on a deep blush. Weiss smiled that she was at least somewhat embarrassed about what she'd just done.

"Well, you two seem quite lively today." A monotonous voice said from the door to the stairs.

"Blake!" Ruby jumped and Weiss quickly ran her hand down her front to push her shirt down.

"How long have you been there?" Weiss asked quickly, fighting mentally to keep the blush off her face.

"Not long." She replied with a grin. "You're lucky Yang's making breakfast and your Dad is still asleep. The food will be ready in ten minutes."

Blake turned and disappeared up the dark staircase quicker than Weiss or Ruby would ever dare to climb them, leaving the couple in silence.

"We really have to figure out some kind of warning system." Ruby stated with a slight groan looking at Weiss with a nervous smile.

"I think I owe you some payback for this." Weiss said teasingly.

"What?" Ruby took a step back.

"Well, not only did you do this." Weiss sat up and gestured to her black stained outfit. "You tickled me breathless, put me on this table and… you know… did _that_."

"Uh… well…" Ruby took another nervous step back.

"You wanted a tickle war, you've got one." Weiss winked and Ruby calmed down realizing Weiss wasn't angry.

"Oh, you're going down!" Ruby taunted, sticking out her tongue.

"Trust me, by the time we're back at beacon you'll have laughed so hard you'll have a sore throat." Weiss grinned.

"We'll see who has the sore throat!" Ruby argued back. Weiss saw the fire of competition burn behind her girlfriend's eyes and smiled to herself. _This break might just turn around yet_.


	36. Chapter 36

The remainder of the previous day passed without major incident. Ruby's father left without a word to anyone in the house somewhere just after noon and didn't return overnight. Blake had kept her silence about witnessing Ruby giving Weiss a raspberry, and Yang had proved once again that she was good at cooking meat, and meat alone.

"So what should we do now?" Ruby asked as she lay across Weiss's lap in the living room.

"I thought your plans were to sleep and relax this break." Weiss questioned while remembering how Ruby'd invited her.

"Well, yeah, but we still have to do _something_!" Ruby argued. "We can't just sit inside all the time."

"What's wrong with this?" Weiss brushed a strand of Ruby's hair back, taking her time while twirling it around her fingers.

Ruby blushed but didn't try to hide it. Instead she smiled and closed her eyes as if giving up her argument.

Weiss continued to play with Ruby's hair, oblivious to the stares of Yang as she stood in the kitchen with a glass of water. After a few moments of watching unnoticed, she left to find Blake.

Weiss stopped playing with Ruby's hair when she noticed the slight movement she'd make when her fingers came too close to her neck. Thinking it odd, Weiss tested her theory by purposely stroking Ruby's hair so her finger barely touched her scalp underneath. As she dragged her hand down, Ruby shifted so Weiss's fingers met nothing but air where her neck had been. When she moved her hand away, Ruby shifted back. She stopped playing with Ruby's hair in order to think a little about Ruby's moving.

"You know, this is nice and all, but it'll be dark soon so we could do this later and do something outside right now." Ruby said as if prompted to speak from Weiss's broken rhythm.

"That's true…" Weiss said, moving her hand to hold Ruby's shoulder. "On the other hand, we also have time for you to tell me why you keep moving just before I touch your neck."

Ruby's face paled and her eyes darted around to realize Weiss had already trapped her. Sure she could escape if she really needed to, but beyond anything else she felt safe and wouldn't need to escape Weiss.

"I have a few ideas, but I'd rather you tell me yourself." Weiss said, stroking another strand of Ruby's hair back but stopping before she reached her neck.

"Well… the thing is… I'm-" Ruby started haltingly, her gut telling her not to reveal her weakest spot even to her girlfriend.

"Extremely ticklish on your neck, right?" Weiss asked. She didn't need to see Ruby nod slightly or make a hum of affirmation, the look in her eyes of apprehension and fear was more than the confirmation she'd asked for. "I suppose since we have a bet going on, I could be fair and tell you about one of mine too."

"Really?" Ruby asked, her face lighting up for a moment.

"No." Weiss answered. "I guess that just means you'll have to try twice as hard to win…"

Weiss knew she was taunting Ruby, and she knew unexpected things always happened when she did that.

"You're mean!" Ruby pouted and sprang off Weiss to start walking out of the room.

"Wait! Ruby!" Weiss called as she jumped off the couch and took a step in her direction. She was afraid she'd once again misread Ruby's mood.

"Gotcha." Ruby said, spinning on her heel and jumping at Weiss. The two landed back on the couch, now with Ruby on top of Weiss, pinning her down. "Now, where should I start to look? How about here?"

Ruby worked her fingers ghostingly over Weiss's neck. Weiss couldn't stop the goosebumps from forming in the path of her fingers, but she had never been ticklish there. A fact that Ruby seemed to pick up on rather quickly.

"Alright, not the neck. How about here?" Ruby once again applied her sneaky fingers to Weiss's armpits. "Everyone is ticklish here."

Weiss held her laughter in and Ruby seemed to lose interest in her lack of results fairly quickly. "Out of ideas already, are we?"

"No. I just…" Ruby stopped to think for a second. "Don't want you to get used to it is all.

"Well, if that's the case, maybe I can try." Without waiting, Weiss skillfully flipped Ruby to her back and pinned her down. "I already know where you're ticklish, but consider this a lesson."

Weiss gently tickled Ruby's neck. Ruby let out a bark of laughter and Weiss stopped. "That's not fair!"

"Oh, hush. I'm not done." Weiss felt a wave of courage by looking down at Ruby's inviting smile and moved on with her plan.

"Hmm…" Ruby hummed as Weiss's lips met hers, giving small pecks.

"I… knew… you'd… like… this…." Weiss said in between her pecks. "That's… why… I… know… you'll… like… this… even… more…."

Weiss slowly moved from Ruby's mouth, even as Ruby tried to follow her. Weiss firmly gripped Ruby's head to keep her from shifting away for a better angle and kissed her way along the girl's jaw till she reached her sensitive neck.

Weiss paused for a moment to let Ruby brace herself but was surprised when Ruby's hands gently pulled her head closer, granting permission.

"Oooh!" Ruby jumped when Weiss's first kiss surprised her but she tried her best to remain still and silent.

Weiss kissed again, feeling the slight jump Ruby made lessen then lessen again as she repeated the action. She stayed at the same spot, knowing Ruby was adjusting to the new contact just as she was with the surprisingly intimate contact. After a few more kisses, Ruby giggled lightly so only Weiss would hear. She quickly pushed aside her remaining hesitation and started moving down towards the crook of Ruby's neck, stopping dead in the center where she once again lost her will to continue on the path her brain had set for her.

After a few chaste kisses, lasting longer and longer in between, Ruby's hands pulled her even closer. In the breath that she exhaled past her ear, Weiss could have sworn she heard an almost silent plea.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Weiss asked after she placed her last peck on Ruby's neck.

"God, yes." Ruby breathed in reply, pulling Weiss somewhat roughly back to her position.

"Consider yourself warned." Weiss replied as she continued. Her kisses were fueled by her giddy nervousness about being so close to someone, but it was laced with happiness that only Ruby could have been the source of.

Weiss realized after a few dozen pecks that her kisses had been transforming to a more sloppy version, leaving a glistening mark on Ruby's neck. Ruby's breathing had turned to a light moan as Weiss continued until something changed.

Weiss felt the need to hear Ruby's voice, not just the ever so slight noises that came past her closed lips. And before she realized what she was doing, she bit down on Ruby's neck.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelped, surprised by the warm hard teeth that gently bit down on her sensitive skin. It didn't hurt, but there was enough pressure that made her feel that it would if it was even the slightest bit harder.

Weiss smiled at her success and exchanged her teeth for her lips, suckling gently as she knew Ruby would feel the sensation even more from the sudden contrast.

"Ahg!" Ruby's voice rose and broke as she suddenly gripped Weiss in a tight hug.

A moment later Ruby released Weiss. She was breathing raggedly and the look in her eyes told Weiss whatever she'd done was something she'd never expected. Ruby lay beneath Weiss until she caught her breath and her face was sufficiently red with her blush.

"Th-that felt really…" Ruby trailed off and closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"Good?" Weiss suggested with a smile. She didn't receive an answer, but it was fairly obvious. "In that case…"

Ruby opened her eyes to find Weiss move back to the spot she'd just been suckling. Ruby felt confused for the barest of moments until she felt Weiss's lips meet her tender neck in a way they hadn't the last time. Weiss's lips were hard and made a perfect seal. A feeling she knew all too well from her younger years as Yang's younger sister.

"Weiss! Please don't!" But her plea was in vain as Weiss unleashed a large raspberry on her neck.

Ruby burst into laughter as Weiss drew out her entire breath making Ruby squirm and wiggle under Weiss's iron grip. Just as Ruby let loose a second scream she noticed something odd. On the top of the couch was a large blue storage container that had frost lining the edges. "Weiss!"

Weiss ignored Ruby and prepared for a second assault when she felt something heavy, wet, and cold slam into her back and spread.

"Ahhh!" Ruby yelled before some of the damp snow slid over her face.

Weiss fell off the couch and the wave of snow followed, splattering her thoroughly from head to toe.

As the avalanche subsided, the two girls dug themselves out and huddled together with their teeth chattering, eyes finding the source of the unexpected wave of snow.

"That's better." Yang sighed, dropping the container to the floor.

"What on Remnant did you do that for?" Weiss would have shouted if she hadn't been frozen to the bone. Instead her voice came out quiet and shaky.

"Well, you two seemed to be so relaxed and happy." Yang said with a sly smile. "Something about that made me want to remind Ruby about our annual snow fight."

"Then just say something next time!" Ruby whined to her sister.

"But this was so much more satisfying." Yang laughed.

"You at least owe us an apology for getting us soaking wet!" Weiss demanded, trying to wring some of the water out of the waist of her shirt.

"Tell you what, the losers of the snowball fight have to do what the winner wants for a day. Sound good?" Yang said with a grin as if she knew she had no chance of losing.

"Fine, you're on!" Weiss shot back and pulled Ruby out of the room to the stairs. "Give us a while to get changed."

"Don't take too long, Ice Queen. Otherwise I'll think you got cold feet." Yang laughed as she watched the two go.

"Shut up." Ruby pouted, as she pulled off one of her sopping socks and disappeared up the stairs.

Yang laughed and flared her aura as she jumped onto the couch, letting the remaining snow melt and the water evaporate so it wouldn't leave damage.

"I must admit that was rather mean spirited of you." Blake said coolly from the kitchen doorway as she looked over her book.

"Come on, they were making out in the living room. If they want to do stuff like that they should make sure they don't get carried away." Yang said seriously. "Just because I accept that they're going out, doesn't mean I want to see it. They're already basically joined at the shoulders, so I don't need to see them connected in other places as well."

"Fair point, but don't you think letting them know you're in the room would be more considerate?" Blake asked. She understood where Yang was coming from, but couldn't agree that her prank was justified.

"I figured the Ice Queen would get most of it. Also it's been a tradition in this family to use snow when challenging others to a snowball fight." Yang explained. "Last year I got a snowball to the face from Qrow, the year before that Ruby got a clump of snow down the back of her shirt from me, the year before me and Ruby ganged up on Qrow to get some snow on him but we ended up losing that one."

"I see. You could have done something a tad less extreme though." Blake stated simply. "Since it is Weiss's first time after all."

"Meh, she'll live." Yang shrugged. "Anywho, wanna watch some cartoons?"

"Not particularly." Blake replied.

"Fine then. I'll get started while I'm waiting for them." Yang waved her hands and grabbed the remote for the TV. "I recorded an entire series that I wanted to see. If you change your mind, you know where I am."

"Have fun with that then." Blake replied and walked away, dodging the puddles of wet that Weiss and Ruby left in their wake as she heading up the stairs.


	37. Chapter 37

"Alright! So, in the east corner, we have the fabulously stunning Yang Xiao Long! Her ability to send a snowball through any fort is legendary throughout all the kingdoms on Remnant!" Yang announced as if for the benefit of an audience that consisted solely of a disgruntled-looking Blake, who'd agreed to be a referee. "And in the west corner, we have Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee! Though Ruby might be quick, and Weiss is made of ice, there is no doubt they'll go out with a Yang!"

Weiss and Ruby grunted at the taunting and puns and prepared to run as Yang pointed to Blake.

"Go." Blake said shortly. Ruby and Weiss jumped into action and started shoveling snow together to create some cover.

"Huh? No 'ready, set'?" Yang asked confused, not paying attention to her opponents.

"Nope!" Ruby yelled, getting Yang's attention. Yang turned to face her sister just to have her head spin back again from the force of the snowball exploding on her cheek.

"Oh, it's on!" Yang jumped into action, scooping up snowball after snowball and sending them flying through the makeshift fort Ruby and Weiss were hiding behind. Each snowball left a small hole to see through. After the hill was riddled with holes, Yang stopped to see the damage she'd done.

"You're going to have to try harder than that." Weiss taunted as she stood from behind the hill. "Much harder."

"You're on!" Yang shouted, taking her last snowball and throwing it like a professional baseball pitcher.

Weiss stopped the snowball with a palm sized glyph, sending the shattered snow over her shoulder to join another hill Yang hadn't noticed while concentrating on the one in front of her.

"Just as we discussed, Ruby." At Weiss's command, Ruby hopped up with and armful of snowballs and started throwing them as if they were being shot from a machine gun at Yang.

Yang smiled, knowing even she could evade them, and easily dodged the balls of ice. She dodged and was about to taunt Ruby for missing when she realized something. Weiss was standing there with her hand outstretched, as if…

Yang's head snapped forward and sent her stumbling into the snow as her back was pelted with snowball after snowball as they bounced off one of Weiss's glyphs.

"That's more like it!" Yang shouted, picking up a snowball and throwing it at Ruby.

Weiss was barely quick enough to raise a glyph as a shield and was surprised when the ball that hit it shattered to dust and left a crack in her semblance.

"Yang! That's dangerous! What if you'd hit Ruby?" Weiss yelled, not noticing Yang winding up another throw.

"Yah!" Yang's throw whipped just to the side of Weiss, making her jump as she felt a horrible crack in her hand before the pain that came with a broken wrist set in.

"Ahh!" Weiss dropped to her knees and Ruby rushed in, carrying a shield of ice that blocked Yang's next shot.

"When I said this was a battle, I meant it. We use tournament rules." Ruby explained while monitoring the durability of the temporary shield and Weiss at the same time.

"Well, at least she only got my right hand." Weiss grinned, biting back her pain and gave Ruby a nod just as the ice gave way.

"Alright! Ice Flower!" Ruby called the play and Weiss pulled up the glyphs to add ice dust to anything passing through them.

Ruby used her semblance and threw ten well placed snowballs that all became jagged rocks of ice at Yang. Yang dodged the first nine, but the final one she punched out of the way, giving her hand a bad gash in the process. The snow took on a red tinge as Yang continued with her assault.

"Move! She's not letting up!" Weiss yelled, using her glyph to move both of them out of the new barrage. "Ruby! I have an idea!"

Yang watched as Weiss tackled Ruby out of the way of her barrage but where they landed, thick steam started rolling in and soon filled the fenced in yard so she couldn't see more than a foot in front of her.

She threw the odd snowball but only heard the dull thwack of fence as confirmation of her missed shot. There was nothing to see so she pulled out the very last of her wind dust. She wondered whether or not she should use it but after a minute, the scuffling of movement in the mist stopped and a gust of wind cleared the remaining mist for Yang to find Ruby and Weiss standing in a snow-less section of the back yard.

"What happened? Run out of snow to mist up?" Yang laughed, thinking her victory was ensured.

"Something of that nature." Weiss responded with a smirk.

Yang halted her throw, wondering what Weiss and Ruby had to smile about when they were out of snow and she was about to solidify her win. Then she heard a small sound as if something had hit the ground behind her. She spun to find nothing out of the ordinary and then back again to find Ruby and Weiss exchanging a meaningful glance.

"What the hell are you two playing at?" Yang asked while preparing to throw her snowball again.

"Nothing, but I'd move if I were you." Ruby said innocently, her puppy dog eyes on half power as they looked at Yang as if pleading not to throw the snowball in her hand.

Yang glanced over at Blake to find her paying attention with a small smirk on her lips. She waved slightly when she noticed Yang looking at her. Yang could have sworn for the barest of an instant Blake pointed upwards when she waved. A feeling of dread washed over Yang and she looked up to the sky.

Nothing but a large square of black, getting larger and larger every second as it rushed back to earth, gravity doing all the work.

Yang backed up a couple steps and a small snowball hit her shoulder with enough force to leave a bruise. Now she knew why there was no more snow on her opponents half of the yard. But she didn't know if she could hold out long enough to win.

She started moving, trying and failing to dodge the snowballs that turned from the odd impact to a steady rain, then a downpour and finally a hail of millions of tiny white balls that knocked her to the ground and pelted her with relentless force until mercifully they stopped.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy." Ruby commented to Weiss. "I would have expected her to find a way out of that."

"If she'd found out about it sooner, then it wouldn't have worked." Weiss stated. "Looks like we've won though."

"Not yet!" Yang grunted, pulling herself towards Weiss as she slowly got up on her feet.

She stumbled forward and lost her balance. She waved her hands and accidentally threw her last snowball in completely the wrong direction. But she was still going to win. She couldn't lose, not with the potential to have to be Weiss's slave for a day.

"Ahh!" Yang went to throw a punch but found her fist striking a black shadow that exploded with a loud gong. It's shock-wave wasn't powerful, but it was enough to send the unstable Yang back to her bottom.

"That's enough. Ruby and Weiss won. Don't be a sore loser." Blake said, offering her hand to her partner.

"Fine. You win, what do you want?" Yang asked, pulling herself up and looking at Weiss.

"I hardly think you'll be useful in your current condition." Weiss huffed. "But I will collect someday. There may be something important we need help with in the near future."

"We?" Yang asked confused.

"Your bet was with me." Weiss explained. "However, I highly doubt you'd object to anything your own sister sanctions. Not to mention I wouldn't have won without her help. Let's just leave it as that, shall we?"

"Well played, Weiss. Well played." Yang shook her head and limped off with the help of Blake.

Weiss let out a breath and felt a shiver run down her spine. Looking down at Ruby where she crouched with her hands folded deep into her clothes, Weiss knew she was suffering from the aftermath of their successful attack.

"Let's go inside. I'll draw the bath and we'll warm up." Weiss said as she pulled Ruby up by the back of her neckline.

"Yeah… um… can we not do it like last time?" Ruby asked nervously as they went back into the house. Weiss blushed from the memory that had been created while she was less sober than she'd intended.

"Yes, lets not." She responded.

"So…" Ruby said, trying to figure out a better system. "Underwear? Unless you have a bathing suit?"

"Underwear it is." Weiss mumbled as they started the trek upstairs. "And let's not do this again."

"Next year, Weiss. Next year." Ruby laughed as she placed a small peck on Weiss's frozen cheek. "Also, you're going to let me take a look at that hand."

"I think I've taken care of it already." Weiss responded. "But thanks… I'd appreciate it."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for reading!**

**I placed a poll on my account asking what I should focus on for National Novel Writing Month. If you'd like to see this or another of my works updated much more often (or completed), or a new story, please cast your vote on my profile. It will be up until an hour before NaNoWriMo's kickoff, so if you can take the time to vote, thank you very much!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are ready for more Rose/Xiao Long family traditions!**


	38. Chapter 38

"Okay! Now that Ruby's here, we can do another one of our holiday traditions!" Yang announced while carrying two large duffel bags through the front door and into the living room where the rest of her team sat.

"If it's another snowball fight, I'll be sitting it out." Weiss said without even turning her eyes away from the show Ruby had decided to watch.

Blake kept her nose in her book, ignoring her teammate as per usual, and Ruby seemed to be zoned out while Weiss slowly stroked her hair as she rested on her girlfriend's lap.

"Hem, hem." Yang cleared her throat and walked in between Ruby, Weiss, and the TV. She dropped the duffel bags loudly on the floor, making Ruby jump back to reality.

"Huh?" Ruby looked at the bags for a moment before her mouth dropped open. "No! You mean it's happened again?"

"You knew they wouldn't hold the line forever, now it's our turn to pick up the mantle and do what we can for humanity!" Yang announced bravely, pounding a fist to her chest as if she were a general saluting to her troops. "Scouts, move out!"

"Yes, Yang!" Ruby barked and quickly grabbed a duffel bag. "Come on Weiss, we have to go save Patch!"

Weiss jumped up and followed Ruby out of the room without questioning Yang's theatrics when Ruby was suddenly as serious as she was. Ruby had just started approaching the front door when Weiss noticed two things. The first was that Crescent Rose was not hooked to Ruby's belt, and the second was that two people were absent from their group.

"Ruby, what's going on?" Weiss asked as she stopped following.

"Oh, right!" Ruby breathed as if just remembering. "It's a paint-ball fight."

"A… paint-ball fight?" Weiss asked as her initial urgency left completely. "Please explain this to me."

"Well, every year or so, this rich kid from down the street comes home from some combat school somewhere on the other side of Remnant. Anyways, him and Yang never really got on well, and he started challenging us to paint-ball fights to see who was better. Up till now it's been about tied. But now that we have even numbers, we can totally come out on top!"

"So…" Weiss took Ruby's information and turned it over in her head to make sure she was processing it right. "Yang's rival is back in town, so you want us to help you win your competition against these guys. And this competition is shooting little balls filled with paint at each other."

"Pretty much, yeah." Ruby nodded excitedly.

Weiss thought the idea over for a moment, not in any way eager to take part in Yang's stupid rivalry, but somewhat happy for a reason not to get bored watching TV and start stressing over her impending marital situation.

"Fine, I suppose it could be fun." She said as Ruby pulled out some gear from the duffel bag.

"Alright!" Ruby cheered for her small success. "So how this works is we basically use all of patch. Don't hit civilians, and remember to check your corners!"

Weiss nodded at the less than helpful comments as Ruby continued to spew out more advice as she handed Weiss a small barrel of ammunition and a gun along with a few cans of compressed air. Once Ruby was out of breath she started putting the rest of the gear in the bag onto her. When she was done, she looked like a commando that was about to go into enemy territory alone, and stay there for a few months.

"So, last things you should know. Like I said earlier, we're up against four guys. One guy has super strength like Yang, another guy can grow plants like scary fast, and another guy is scary flexible. Not sure what the last guy has, but I'd guess at something more support oriented that isn't very useful." Ruby said as she approached the door and opened it a crack to peek out.

"Ruby, exactly how serious is this paint-ball fight?" Weiss asked with apprehension, sensing that it wasn't going to be fought honorably as she had been hoping.

"Um… slightly more so than the snowball fight?" Ruby suggested as she closed the door quickly to hear three dull snaps hit the wood. "Also, we're going to have to find cover as soon as we get outside. The neighbor has a pretty good fence but I think one of them is definitely waiting there to ambush us. Any ideas for a plan?"

"Why don't we just do what we always do and make it up on the fly?" Weiss asked, already getting tired of the paint-ball fight that had yet to start.

"The best plan there is!" Ruby smiled evilly. Weiss could see the wheels turning in the girl's head and had a feeling this was going to be more of an adventure than she'd bargained for.


	39. Chapter 39

The front door opened slowly, the hinges creaking as it slowly opened into a dark and empty front hall. The view through the highly-expensive and custom made sniper-scope didn't show anything other than the fact that there were an extra two heat signatures in the house than the previous year.

The two he was looking at seemed to be near the back door while the other two made motions to get ready.

"Delta, we have two at the back." He spoke into a microphone that hung in front of his face.

"Roger that, Bravo. Alpha has the flank." Was the reply.

He watched the two digital red blotches on his scope as they appeared to discuss something. He slowly turned the focusing knob on the scope so he could get a better picture of their interaction.

All of a sudden, his vision blurred as the scope flared brightly at him. A huge shock wave slammed into him as it tore the air with a loud clap.

As he recovered from the concussive force of the explosion, he looked up to see the girl's younger sister with a smug smile gracing her lips. He slowly reached for his sidearm but the girl was too quick.

The dull, repeated thwack of the paint-ball gun sounded until nothing but air hissed from the held trigger.

"Not bad, short stuff." He said as he got up and rolled his shoulders. He spoke back into his headset before clicking it off. "Bravo downed by little red. I'll be at Cynthia's if you need me."

He walked quickly away from Ruby down the street as Weiss came up behind her.

"Is that really all we have to do?" Weiss asked, not expecting eliminating an opponent to be that easy.

"Basically, but he was the guy with the useless semblance. He's the first one out every year." Ruby said, reloading her gun with a can of fresh paint-balls.

"Did you ever think it might be because he has better things to do?" Weiss asked with a raised brow.

"Nah, what could be more fun than a paint-ball fight?" Ruby asked seriously, looking at Weiss.

She opened her mouth before thinking better of her intended response. Instead she settled for a simple shrug.

"Alright, now we start to launch our counterattack!" Ruby announced enthusiastically. "So, two of them are probably covering the back yard because that's Yang's territory and she can be a handful. That means there's one guy that's doing floater work."

"Excuse me? Floater?" Weiss asked, not quite understanding where Ruby was coming up with her terminology.

"Oh, it's a gaming thing." Ruby explained. "A floater is that one guy on the team that goes back and forth between units to assist where he's needed. Basically, now he should be on our trail because we eliminated one of the units."

"In other words, we should move." Weiss said as she pulled Ruby out of the way of a volley of paint-balls.

"Hold on!" Ruby smiled as her semblance carried them down the road to the center of town.

Once there, they stepped into an alley that ran between two of the handful of shops that crowded one side of the street across from a junk yard. The sounds of a compressor and an air powered drill sounded from the garage to the side of the piles of scrap metal, echoing over the frozen landscape as people walked past. One lady looked into the alley as her group passed and turned back to her group who all walked started walking quickly.

"Well, so much for using crowds to help." Ruby sighed. "For some reason nobody likes it when we use them as shields in our paint-ball fights."

"I wonder why…" Weiss rolled her eyes. Even she was trying to see the point of this urban warfare. She looked at Ruby who looked honestly baffled and shook her head. _Maybe I should explain later._

The two girls stayed quietly in the alley for what felt like forever. Weiss realized after only a few minutes that despite the chill in the air, she was quite relaxed as she simply leaned beside her girlfriend, her shoulder gently resting against Ruby's. If nothing else, it was time spent with the most important person in her life. Time she was terrified would be cut before long.

"What are you thinking about?" Ruby's voice broke the silence and Weiss looked over at her leader.

"Nothing worth mentioning." Weiss responded, not wishing to show Ruby how afraid she really was.

"With the look on your face, even a stranger could tell it's not nothing." Ruby laughed a little. "So what's up?"

"Really, Ruby. It's nothing. I'm just thinking about the wedding again." Weiss admitted, knowing Ruby'd understand.

"Oh…" Ruby responded, falling silent. The silence was heavy and awkward until Ruby seemed to find the words she wanted to say. "I guess me telling you not to worry isn't going to help anything, right?"

Weiss shook her head in denial. Even though she wanted so badly to tell Ruby that it would help, she knew it was a short term fix. Once her mind started to wander, she'd inevitably return to running the possibilities of her future through her head.

"Well, I really can't say anything except not to worry." Ruby admitted. "And that you don't just have me to help. We might not have been together for very long, but I can guarantee you that Yang has your back. Not to mention my dad and uncle would do everything to help you if I asked."

"I suppose that does help a little bit." Weiss admitted, hoping Ruby was right about her family, even though she'd never actually met any of them other than her sister yet.

"So just don't worry. Even you said there was nothing to do until your sister came through with the contract." Ruby continued. "And you can add your sister to the list of people who'll help. Along with JNPR. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to lend a hand if we needed."

"Okay." Weiss laughed a little bit at Ruby's enthusiasm to recruit almost everyone they knew to help her solve her problem. "That's enough of that for now."

"Did I cheer you up?" Ruby asked with an excited grin.

"I suppose you did." Weiss smiled, putting more pressure against Ruby's shoulder to support her words.

"Good. Then make a solid glyph half way between you and the end of the alley on my mark!" Ruby said, picking up her gun and leaning back against the wall. She pressed herself as flat as she could and looked past Weiss. "Now!"

Weiss acted as instructed, throwing up a glyph to catch a volley of paint-balls. One managed to fly past her glyph before she got it up and hit the ground just in front of Weiss's shoe, exploding in a streak of luminescent orange.

Weiss watched as her glyph turned from clear and white to multicolored in a matter of seconds. At the same moment she lost the clear hole she was looking through, her scroll vibrated.

"Blake's down." Ruby announced as she checked her own scroll. "Yang's on her way to point C."

"Where's that?" Weiss asked, focusing most of her energies on maintaining the glyph even though the barrage had stopped.

"The house in the woods. It's a small abandoned shack about fifty feet into the forest on the other side of town." Ruby explained. "We'll lure them there and make the final stand."

Weiss nodded, knowing Ruby was following some pattern she'd obviously done before. She listened closely and could hear the quick crunch of foot steps approaching on the other side of her glyph. She could barely make out the odd pattern of two sets.

"They're coming from the other side." Weiss advised Ruby.

"Then let's fly!" Ruby used her semblance to quickly jump between the two buildings and gain the roof of the shorter one.

Weiss weakened her glyph to the point where barely a single touch would destroy it and prepared to air step to the roof Ruby was on. She didn't have to wait long.

A fist with a short club smashed through her glyph, sending the powdered paint into a blinding cloud as the guy stumbled with his excess momentum, having expected the glyph to be stronger. She summoned her glyph as the second guy shot a volley of paint-balls blindly into the alley. Weiss barely dodged them as she flew towards the roof. Ruby's hand caught hers, pulling her over and onto the roof.

"Now we run!" Ruby announced as she took off to the other side of the long roof. She stopped behind a furnace vent and turned back as Weiss came running after her.

The two guys jumped up to the roof a second later, as if they'd both used the same springboard. Ruby unleashed a volley of well aimed shots at them, making them dodge and move for cover as Weiss cleared the halfway mark.

"Drunk running, Weiss!" Ruby called as she quickly reloaded. Weiss swerved to the side as paint-balls started flying at her and amazingly missed or exploded around her feet as she kept running.

Weiss blindly shot her paint-ball gun backwards to where she thought the two were shooting at her from, though her aim was dreadful at best. Ruby popped back out of her cover, this time she was pacing each shot as if she was aiming carefully. Behind her, Weiss heard one of the guys curse and the barrage around her slowed.

Ruby stopped shooting for a moment just as Weiss reached her, her eyes wide. She launched herself at Weiss and the two started to fall over the edge of the roof just as something large and hard slammed into them.

Weiss hit the wall of the neighboring building, cushioning Ruby in her arms and dropping her weapon as Ruby did the same. Thankfully, the impact wasn't hard and her aura absorbed most of it without a problem. Then they were falling.

Weiss screamed as they tumbled through the air and suddenly, with a crack and final tumble, she found herself laying beside Ruby and facing the sky.

"Ruby!" Weiss started panicking, her winded lungs crying at the force of their landing.

"Fine." Came Ruby's reply. "Get the guns. We only have a few seconds."

Weiss struggled to her feet and found the two paint-ball guns, now somewhat scratched up, laying only a couple feet away. She took them both and turned to look at Ruby.

She was leaning against one of the walls, holding her leg that appeared to be fine, but that didn't mean much.

"You're hurt." Weiss stated, crouching beside Ruby. "Let's just surrender and go home."

"No. A rose never surrenders!" Ruby argued, struggling to her feet. "Give me my gun."

Weiss handed over the weapon reluctantly as a plan formed in her head.

"Come on, we have to get to Yang!" Ruby said as she took a step away from the wall. She cried out in pain as she stumbled back to the wall, breathing heavily.

"You're not going anywhere fast with your injury." Weiss stated firmly, placing her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "But if it really matters that much to you, I'll help."

"It does." Ruby nodded, glancing up at the roof overhead.

Weiss sighed and held out her gun for Ruby to take. Ruby took it questioningly as Weiss stepped closer.

"You'll tell me if I'm hurting you, right?" Weiss asked quietly. Ruby, seeming to understand her intention, nodded. "Then all you have to do is lift your leg."

Ruby nodded as Weiss wrapped her arms around Ruby. She placed her head beside Ruby's and lifted the girl off the ground. She steadied herself with the new weight and then started to move.

Ruby had her good leg wrapped around Weiss's back and her bad leg hanging out of the way while she kept one arm around Weiss's back. Her other arm held her gun at the ready for when the guys would get off the roof and give chase.

She didn't have to wait long.

"Swerve!" Ruby ordered as she watched one of them land in a crouch and aim down their sights. The short, controlled burst of paint-balls flew past them harmlessly as Weiss moved to the right. Ruby squeezed off a single shot, but the bouncing of Weiss's running made it difficult to aim. The ball ended up hitting the ground a few feet in front of it's target.

"We're a hundred yards out, can you get us there quick?" Ruby asked, wishing she hadn't landed badly on her leg.

"Reach into the pouch by your ankle. Get the green vial." Weiss instructed. She felt the slight snap of the button when Ruby fumbled the pouch open. Weiss realized it was the first time she'd ever let Ruby, or anyone for that matter, take something from her clothing's storage and felt a wave of intimacy grip her as she also realized how much trust she had in Ruby that she hadn't even thought twice before issuing her command.

"Here." Ruby closed the pouch and reached behind her to place the vial in Weiss's hand.

"Hold tight." Weiss said as she picked up her pace while she uncorked the dust.

Weiss used a small glyph to toss the vial in front of her, letting the dust fan out as she summoned a glyph that absorbed the dust and glowed bright. She jumped as she approached and landed perfectly on the glyph's center. Her momentary stop had paint-balls landing on the ground around her and Ruby as she leaned forwards and braced herself for the liftoff.

"Weiss!" Ruby panicked as the paint-balls grew more accurate and she moved her arm to fire a few in response.

Weiss activated her glyph and felt herself flying as fast as she was capable of going, the weight of Ruby creating more drag than she'd anticipated. Ruby dropped the gun she was firing at the sudden momentum and braced herself tightly against Weiss as she watched the world fly by in reverse.

It wasn't as fast as Ruby could run, but she was amazed at the strange feeling of moving backwards at their speed. Their momentum dissipated as they approached their goal and Weiss almost stumbled as the ground turned from pavement to gravel.

"Head to the back of the house, Yang'll be there." Ruby instructed.

Weiss followed the directions and rounded the house, noticing that the trees were growing so thick that it was amazing they were just at the very edge of the forest.

"Stop, let me down here." Ruby said quietly just as Weiss approached the corner.

She leaned Ruby against the wall and Ruby peeked around it with the remaining paint-ball gun. She fired a quick burst and a groan echoed from the other side.

"Told you that you didn't have time to mess around!" Yang's voice shouted in triumph along with the sound of another paint-ball gun.

"Meh, this was getting a bit old to be honest. Raphael is the one who insists we do this." The boy responded as Weiss and Ruby rounded the corner. "Looks like you could use a hand."

The boy approached Ruby and easily lifted her up against her protests and deposited her in a chair that stood on the back porch of the house. He collapsed himself into the chair next to it as Yang came up beside Weiss.

"Don't worry about it, they're just gonna watch the finale. But… sort of disappointing it's you and me." She said with a light punch to Weiss's arm.

"So how did Blake get eliminated?" Weiss asked, deciding to deal with her feelings about the boy sitting in the chair later.

"She put on the vest and shot herself." Yang replied. "She said she was getting to a good part in the book she was reading."

"Sounds like her." Weiss agreed. "What's the plan of action?"

"What do you mean?" Yang asked, confused. "Win of course."

"No, I mean…" Weiss realized then how much she'd been relying on Ruby's intelligence on their opponents up till then. "Oh… Right."


	40. Chapter 40

"Well, I'm going to the top of that tree." Weiss announced while pointing out the tree to her teammate. "If you can distract them for six and a half seconds once they round the corner, I'll be able to provide support."

"How do you know what corner they'll come from?" Yang asked in confusion.

"Ruby and I came around that corner, so they'll come from the other side in case we're setting an ambush. If anything, one might come over the house if they're showboats like CRDL."

"Ouch! That hurts." The boy sitting next to Ruby said with a mixture of amusement and laughter. "But she has a point."

"Okay, get going." Yang nodded with a grin. She pumped her fist and turned her weapon into it's combat form. "They'll never know what hit 'em!"

"That's what I'm hoping for." Weiss said as she approached Ruby.

Wordlessly, she took the paint-ball gun and turned to the tree. As she approached it, she turned back and looked at her girlfriend.

"This is what happens when you mess with us." Weiss said to the boy sitting next to Ruby, she didn't know if she was being jealous of Ruby, or protective. The emotions she was feeling were very different from usual and that made it somewhat scary that they were affecting her so much.

She summoned her glyph and vaulted through the branches and landed on another one she summoned just above the highest branch. Looking around, she saw the massive forest that stretched to the ocean. The trees were barely covered in snow due to the winds that ruffled the tops and set them swaying, but it was undoubtedly a winter scene with the glacial breeze blowing and the too bright sun shining and reflecting on the areas of frost that clung to the trees. It was a beautiful scene.

Below her, she heard the start of the commotion. She quickly pulled two paint-balls out of one of her reload canisters. She found the pin hole where they were loaded and used an extremely small glyph to stretch it and drain the paint. Then she poured ice dust into one and burn dust into the next. It was the perfectly concealed weapon.

She dropped her glyphs and fell to the ground in front of the tree to find Yang in an all out fist fight with the boy who obviously had the super strength semblance.

She threw fist after fist at him, but like a professional boxer, he shrugged off Yang's assault as if it were nothing. Weiss fired the remainder of the paint-ball gun's ammo at him, but he dodged that attack just as well.

Weiss loaded the single ice paint-ball just as a large block of green came flying at her from the ground beside her. She dodged and rolled as what she realized were pieces of grass were pelting her as they tried and failed to grow from the frozen earth.

Weiss watched as the ground around Yang melted and thawed as her semblance slowly grew stronger. She glanced over at the boy who was just now pulling himself out of a pile of splinters and picking up his paint-ball gun. As she saw the whole picture, she knew she had only seconds to pull off her attack.

Yang threw a massive punch that her opponent caught in his hand, releasing a shock-wave from the massive force of the impact. Weiss used her air-step to get directly above both Yang and her quarry where she fired the ice round directly at the ground beneath their feet.

The ice encased both of the fighters' legs temporarily which was enough for Weiss to toss a handful of paint-balls into her open hopper and fire them off at their opponent. Just as the balls of paint made impact, the ice shattered as massive tufts of green picked Yang up and held her like a target. Yang flared her semblance, dropping out of the trap just as a flurry of paint-balls hit the grass harmlessly. Weiss loaded the burn dust round as she landed, turning to the boy who'd managed to circle to the opposite side of the thawed ground where grass continued to pour out and coil as if the obscenely long blades had the mind of a snake.

The grass snake lunged at Yang who barely took the hit with her aura flaring and breaking before she was thrown backwards. Weiss threw a single paint-ball into her hopper on top of the burn round, knowing that more would be useless.

She analyzed the grass snake and found that the thinnest part was near it's base before the long strands had completely coiled around each other.

The boy across the clearing grinned evilly as he swung his arm out at the shifting mass of lawn cover. The snake lunged at Weiss as if to tackle her with what she'd decided was it's head.

Weiss jumped forwards, rolling out of the way just in time as the grass smashed into the ground. She summoned one of her more unique glyphs around the base of the artificial snake and fired her dust round.

As if it were made to do so, the entire column of grass ignited with a flame that melted snow as far away as the edge of the trees. Weiss grinned as she pulled up the same glyph but this time aimed through the center of the pillar of fire. She fired her paint-ball and a dull thwack sounded from the opposite side.

All was quiet as the fire extinguished itself and the ash and remaining grass fell to the ground slowly as the wind blew it into the forest. Looking across the small open space, Weiss felt a small, smug smile stretch across her face as she saw the single yellow splotch of paint on her opposition's chest.

"Nice job." The boy beside Ruby called out as he clapped joyfully. "That was awesome!"

Weiss turned as he playfully patted Ruby on the shoulder before returning to laughing and clapping. For whatever reason, the feeling she'd been holding back since they'd arrived at this final battle ground finally managed to slip past her common sense and she marched quickly toward the two spectators.

"Weiss-?" Ruby started, sounding concerned, only to be cut short as Weiss forced her into a passionate kiss.

Weiss deepened the kiss as the feeling burning within her didn't lessen. Ruby's lips parted willingly and Weiss attacked Ruby's tongue with hers. It didn't take long for Ruby's moan to bring Weiss back to earth and she realized what she'd been doing.

Weiss broke the kiss and took a moment to breathe a deep breath before she looked up at Ruby.

"Um…" Weiss didn't have anything to say for her sudden assault, so she fell silent, looking down at Ruby. "Wanna go home?"

"Yup!" Ruby chirped and lifted herself unsteadily back onto her feet. "Let's go."

Weiss let Ruby use her as a crutch for a few steps before she decided they weren't going fast enough.

"Weiss? What? Oof!" Ruby said as Weiss scooped her up bridal style before continuing on at a faster pace. Looking over her shoulder, Ruby waved at the boys with her free hand then clasped it with the one that she had resting around Weiss's neck.

"We'll send your sister home once she wakes up." The plant boy called after them.

After several minutes of Weiss walking quickly, Ruby found them turning onto her street. She cuddled into Weiss's neck again and closed her eyes, simply enjoying the heat of their closeness even though Weiss must have been getting tired of carrying her.

"Sorry about earlier." Weiss spoke as she continued to walk, holding Ruby slightly tighter for a few seconds before returning her hold to normal.

Ruby hummed a simple acknowledgment to her partner and fell silent for the moment.

"Wanna tell me what got into you back there?" She asked Weiss quietly, allowing her to pretend she hadn't heard the question if she didn't want to answer.

"I don't know." Weiss answered just as quietly. "I just didn't like it when he carried you to the porch. Or when you two were cheering for my win and he… I don't know."

"Sounds like somebody was jealous." Ruby taunted, a grin growing on her face at Weiss's cuteness.

"I was not jealous!" Weiss replied quickly and sternly, as if the force she said it with proved her point.

"Sure you weren't." Ruby responded sarcastically, her grin growing wider.

"I have not now, nor have I ever been jealous!" Weiss argued firmly, a blush working its way onto her face as Ruby's insistence made her even more self conscious as she walked down the block.

"Nope!" Ruby giggled. "You were definitely wanting to keep me all to yourself!"

Ruby's giggles continued on, unceasing, as Weiss thought back to that burning feeling that pushed her into making a very public and very obvious claim to the girl she was now carrying home. In retrospect, it was a bit obvious, but her pride fought against reality, and so she argued. "Of course I do, but I have absolutely no reason to be jealous."

Ruby's giggles stopped and she shifted to look at Weiss properly. "So if I told you we were going to get together with them later, you wouldn't have a problem with it?"

"Of course not!" Weiss stated firmly, not looking Ruby in the face as she approached Ruby's house.

"Even if I get their help up the stairs?" Ruby asked doubtfully. Weiss flinched at the argument. By now even she could tell Ruby knew, and continuing to hide it wouldn't be anything other than running from the truth.

"You win. I was only a little jealous, okay?" Weiss relented quietly as she set Ruby down to enter the house, but Ruby's hand reached out and caught her sleeve as she made to pass her.

"You should know… there is absolutely no reason for you to be jealous." Ruby said quietly while she fought a blush that started creeping up her face. "But if it makes you feel better, I promise that you are the most important thing in my life. And I'd never leave you for anyone else, ever."

"I know…" Weiss responded. And she did know, for a while already, that Ruby was just as serious about her as she was about Ruby.

"Then we're better?" Ruby asked to see how Weiss felt with her feelings resolved.

"I'd say so…" Weiss affirmed. "I love you."

"Love you too." Ruby replied before glancing into the house. "But let's keep it quiet until dinner. If my dad is still home, I'll have to tell him about us."

"Sure. But I hardly think he'd mind if I helped you get up to your room." Weiss suggested, missing the warmth of Ruby as she'd carried her home.

"I'll be fine on my own." Ruby replied before whimpering as she barely put any pressure on her leg. Weiss watched with a raised eyebrow as Ruby tried to take a shuffling step forwards and only succeeded in making a pained exhale as she moved an inch in the right direction. Ruby's silver eyes glimmered from the pain of her leg and she blinked back her unshed tears. "Um…"

"Yes, Ruby?" Weiss asked calmly, waiting for Ruby's request as if she didn't already know what it would be.

"Can you help me, please?" Ruby asked, her voice fading to almost a mumble as Weiss's face broke into a smile.

"And what would you give me in return?" Weiss asked, stepping closer and brushing her hand down Ruby's cold cheek, noting the younger girl's breath catch for a moment.

"Whatever you want." Ruby replied breathily, leaning forward slowly as Weiss closed the distance between them.

Ruby's lips were warm and soft as they met Weiss's and the feeling was starkly in contrast with the ravaging kiss they'd shared earlier, but no less passionate. Weiss felt she was the luckiest person in the world to have Ruby's affection, and wanted nothing more than to make the moment last forever.

But the sound of footsteps coming from around the corner of the doorway broke them apart. Ruby quickly wrapped her arm around Weiss's shoulders and turned herself so Weiss could wrap her arm around Ruby's back. Just as they finished the shift in position, Ruby's father walked out the open door.

"Oh, I thought someone was here." He stated as he stopped to take in Ruby and Weiss. "You must be Ms. Schnee. I apologize for the short greeting, but I have to get to the hospital."

"N-no problem." Weiss stuttered at the friendly and polite tone Ruby's father had, not exactly knowing how to respond.

"Hey, dad? Will you be home for supper?" Ruby asked as he continued to walk to his truck.

"I should be, but depending on the situation, I might be a bit late." He said as he unlocked the door. "I'll send you girls a message if I get held up."

"Alright." Ruby nodded as the door shut and the motor started.

The two girls watched Ruby's father as he drove away down the street and turned a corner. Simultaneously, the girls let out the breath they were holding and glanced at each other.

Almost immediately, they broke into nervous giggles as Weiss helped Ruby into the house.

"I can't believe we were that close to being found out!" Ruby squealed between giggles.

"That was close." Weiss agreed. She helped Ruby lean against the wall as she took care of their shoes and paint-ball gear, stowing it in the duffel bag that rested against the wall.

"What was close?" A voice made them both jump as Blake came around the corner with a glass of milk in one hand and her book in the other.

"Nothing, Dad just almost walked out when me and Weiss were kissing." Ruby summarized in a grimace while she once again tested her leg out.

"Weiss and I." Weiss corrected automatically.

"Sure, sure." Ruby nodded absently in response.

"Shouldn't you tell him that you two are dating?" Blake asked in curiosity.

"I was planning on tonight, but if he's stuck at work I'll have to wait." Ruby said with a sigh. "I just wanted to announce it when we're all together."

"Alright. Then if you need me, I'll be in Yang's room." Blake announced as she walked up the stairway.

"Um… she was kind of knocked out in the paint-ball fight." Ruby informed her.

"I know. I'm acquainted with Charlie and he sent me a message shortly before you came back." Blake said. When she realized Ruby and Weiss were still watching her expectantly, she realized they didn't even know the boys' names. "Charlie is the one with the biological growth semblance."

"Oh, plant boy…" Ruby breathed in understanding. "Okay then!"

Blake waved her book as she rounded the corner at the top of the stairs. Weiss helped Ruby into the living room where she collapsed onto the couch, Weiss moving to gracefully sit at her side.

"So are you sure it's alright to leave your sister with them?" Weiss asked after a momentary silence.

"Oh, sure. I didn't really explain much about their relationship, did I?" Weiss shook her head in answer, so Ruby continued. "They all met in kindergarten and became friends because Yang was a bit of a tomboy."

"I somehow find that hard to believe." Weiss admitted, trying to picture a little Yang having fun splashing around in mud or doing something else like that.

"Yeah, seeing as how she is now it's a bit far fetched, but that's how it was. Anyhow, around grade one or two she joined a boxing training camp at the gym that was owned by Charlie's dad, who also owed a favour to Uncle Qrow. Turns out the rest of the group had also joined the same camp, and Yang ended up winning the mock tournament they had at the end. Since then, they've been competing to see who is the better fighter, and now hunter."

"Sounds like Yang." Weiss laughed as she relaxed and leaned her shoulder into Ruby's.

"Yup!" Ruby joined in. "And then when I found my semblance, Yang started using me as a scout because it was basically her versus all four of them. But at the time only the guy with super strength had found his semblance so it was essentially fair since I couldn't really do anything. Then they had an idea to turn it into a paint-ball fight so I could be eliminated without them actually having to hit me and that way Yang wouldn't get mad at them."

"Something tells me there's a larger story there." Weiss commented on Ruby's selected words.

"Not so much a story as a hospital visit that had left three of them with some nasty burns when Yang lost control of her semblance." Ruby stated. After a moment of thought as they warmed up in the heat of the house and each other, she continued. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything." Weiss replied immediately.

"I was actually afraid Yang wouldn't be okay with us… you know… dating." Ruby said as she wrapped Weiss in a hug.

"I actually don't think that would have been a possibility." Weiss stated after a moment thinking about everything she knew about her blond teammate.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked curiously.

"From what I've heard and seen, Yang seems to only care about keeping you happy. I think that somewhere down the line, she realized that eventually you'd find someone else to do that for you. I think the only reason Yang would actively oppose something like that was if she somehow knew that somewhere down the line you'd end up hurt." Weiss stopped as she remembered all the difficulty surrounding her relationship with the brawler that seemed strained at best. Even though they'd more recently come to terms with each other, it was far from a caring relationship. "Can I tell you something, too?"

"Yeah, of course!" Ruby replied, still thinking over Weiss's words with a smile on her face.

"I think I understand why Yang was so afraid of you getting closer to me." Weiss said. Ruby's smile vanished and she shifted to look directly into Weiss's face. Weiss couldn't stand the eye contact and looked down at her hands that were clasped gently in her lap. "She probably assumed I'd be married off to some rich guy and would disappear from your life. And I hate to admit that right now, that is a very likely possibility. She didn't want you to feel hurt when your friend seemingly abandons you, but I think in light of our current relationship, she's changed her tactics so she'll be ready to care for you when I eventually break your heart. I don't want to do that, I really don't, but she's smart enough to know what might happen."

"Weiss, I-" Ruby was silenced by Weiss's fingertip pressing against her lips.

"Can you just promise me one thing?" Weiss asked as she looked back up into those silver eyes she loved so much. Ruby nodded silently. "Promise me that in the case that we can't do anything about the contract. If I end up having to getting married…. Promise me that you'll be okay. That you'll keep living your life without me."

Ruby shook her head and ignored Weiss's finger as she replied. "I'll make that promise under one condition. You promise that you will do everything in your power, and I'll do everything in mine, to make sure I never have to keep that promise."

Weiss smiled at Ruby's words. "I promise."


	41. Chapter 41

"Hey all, how'd things turn out?" Yang asked loudly as she shut the front door and walked into the living room.

"After you provided a good distraction, quite well. All things considered." Weiss said as she quickly sat up from her reclined position on the couch.

"So we did win, eh?" Yang jumped across an armchair and pulled her scroll from her pocket.

"Yeah! Weiss was amazing!" Ruby said, once again getting excited from the climax of the match.

"I already told you it was nothing special." Weiss argued, a slight pink hue taking over her cheeks. "Anyways, has your father sent you a message?"

"Don't know, I haven't checked." Ruby replied, not moving to get her scroll. "Yang?"

"Yeah, he said he'll be a little late, but only by about half an hour." Yang replied as she checked her messaging app. Her stomach let loose a loud growl just as she tossed the scroll onto the table. "Maybe I should have a snack…"

"NO!" Ruby yelled making both her sister and girlfriend look at her with surprise. "I mean… you… shouldn't spoil dinner?"

Ruby's eyes found Weiss for a brief moment before she looked at Yang pleadingly.

"Alright, why don't you explain, Weiss?" Yang sighed, slouching into the chair even more.

"We're going to make an announcement at dinner." Weiss said, consciously taking Ruby's hand so even Yang couldn't miss the movement.

"Oh… gotcha!" Yang winked before hopping back to her feet. "I promise I'll only have something small."

"Okay…" Ruby grumbled in defeat. "I should have used the puppy eyes…"

"Now, now. No need to be so serious." Yang came over to her sister and wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Not to mention…"

Yang trailed off with her eyes on Weiss. Ruby followed her gaze and the two sisters stared at her as if she had something on her face.

"What?" Weiss asked cautiously.

"Nothing." Yang waved a hand in dismissal as she turned to make her way to the kitchen. "Just that tonight will prove whether or not my first impression of you was right."

Once the blond left, Weiss looked over at Ruby questioningly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe we should get Blake to help us make supper?" Ruby replied with a nervous laugh. "Just in case?"

Weiss sighed, hoping that Ruby wasn't going to be as nervous come the moment of truth. She responded after another moment of thought. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

Over the next half an hour, Ruby and Weiss found Blake hiding in Yang's room reading, and after some explaining, managed to convince her to help them cook something that wasn't just a simple dish that they already knew how to make.

Weiss wasn't exactly sure whether that was a good thing or not since Blake had only agreed to give instruction where it was needed. So, as she had predicted, Blake now sat in the kitchen with her book as Ruby and her looked through all the food they had at their disposal.

"What can we even make from these ingredients?" Weiss asked, looking at the assorted meats and vegetables in front of her.

"I was going to make kabobs with them." Yang said from her spot beside Blake, hoping to enjoy her teammates making fools of themselves as they tried to cook.

"Don't think of what the ingredients can help you make." Blake said philosophically. "Think of what you want to make, then choose your ingredients."

"I don't really know. Does your dad have a favourite dish?" Weiss asked curiously. She looked from Ruby who shrugged to Yang who smiled and nodded.

"He really likes stew." Yang said with a look of satisfaction.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other for a moment, neither one picking up whether Yang was making a joke or if she was serious.

"Stew…" Weiss echoed just to make sure she'd heard right.

"Yup! Stew." Yang replied. "Ruby should know that. You haven't forgotten last winter, have you?"

"Right… but-" Ruby started to object but Yang cut her off.

"Nope! I know what you're going to say, and the answer is no." Yang replied, her smile lingering, giving Weiss a feeling that there was nothing helpful that would come from her mouth.

Ruby opened her mouth to try again when Weiss put her hand on her shoulder. "Your sister isn't going to help with this one."

"I guess you're right… so stew?" Ruby asked, glancing at the ingredients. "I don't think kabobs would be a good idea. Too dangerous."

"Fine… stew it is." Weiss conceded with a sigh of defeat.

"Yes! I knew you'd give!" Yang cheered.

"If you aren't helping, go away." Blake ordered Yang with a wave of her book. "I'll call you when it's time to clean up."

"Yes, your majesty!" Yang said sarcastically as she left for the living room. "I'll be watching TV."

Weiss and Ruby started preparing the food for the stew. It quickly became apparent that Ruby was not the right person to be wielding a sharp knife even though her scythe probably had a sharper edge to it's blade. Weiss quickly found out on the other hand, that she was actually quite skilled, and managed to chop all her vegetables into neat pieces that were all roughly the same size. She quickly took over the cutting as Blake assigned Ruby to the pot where she was now carefully monitoring the heat as the meat cooked and made sure nothing ended up burned or stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Blake went between them, monitoring their progress as she also started pulling out ingredients for another dish she had agreed to prepare due to the difficulty level. After Weiss finished cutting the ingredients, Blake examined the chunks of beef in Ruby's pot.

"So now just add all the vegetables and keep stirring it for the next thirty minutes." She instructed while she poured her mixture she'd been working on into a pan and quickly put it in the oven below the stove. "That should be done in about 45 minutes, so we'll have everything ready to eat in about an hour. Does that sound fine?"

"An hour puts it exactly when my dad said he'd be home." Ruby said, looking down at her clothes and then at Weiss's attire. "I sort of wanted to clean up after the paint-ball fight."

"And what were you doing up until now?" Blake asked, noting that the fight had ended hours ago.

"She kind of caught both of us when we fell off a building. So she was on the couch recovering." Weiss said, looking down and away from the faunus. "And I was kind of… keeping her company."

"Fine." Blake sighed, sitting back on the chair she'd been on before. "Ruby go get ready. When you're done the princess can go."

"Hey!" Weiss jumped at the nickname.

"Thanks! I'll be quick!" Ruby disappeared with her semblance barely held in check to avoid the rose petals from falling into the food they'd worked so hard to create.

Blake's eyes shifted from Ruby's exit back to Weiss who had taken over stirring the stew. She watched Weiss for a moment before turning back to her book.

The two teammates remained silent for a few awkward moments before Weiss coughed lightly to break the silence.

"I… really appreciate your help." Weiss said to the stew while she changed her stirring pattern to the opposite direction. "This is actually the first thing I've enjoyed cooking in my life."

"You're welcome… and what do you mean?" Blake asked curiously.

Weiss took a deep breath and turned her body so she was facing Blake. A single hand held the wooden spoon firmly as her wrist gently kept the thick liquid in motion.

"It's not that I needed help to make anything. I'm sure you saw my skill with a knife when I was cutting the vegetables." Weiss said to a nod from Blake. "I was taught how to cook by a team of chefs that work at a 5 star restaurant."

"Knowing your background, I could see that." Blake stated with a nod as if that explained everything.

"But you know… the only reason I was taught to cook was because it was something my father thought would make me more suitable as a bride." Weiss stated with a grimace. "Believe it or not, he actually agreed for me to be married with six different people already."

Blake's eyebrows shot up at the information and she looked at Weiss curiously for an explanation.

"He managed to weasel me out of the marriages through a series of purposely created loopholes. It didn't make for very happy business partners." Weiss said ruefully. "It's actually how he acquired the eastern mines where the majority of the faunus labour disputes have cropped up from."

"And he's really okay with you and Ruby?" Blake asked skeptically even though the fact that Weiss was there in front of her gave evidence that he was.

"Actually, he treated my announcement as a practical joke. And then he finalized yet another marriage contract that seems to be the one he's meaning to have stick." Weiss said darkly. "My sister is the only one who was understanding. And she's promised to get me the contract so I can find a way out. Speaking of which…"

"You want my help." Blake stated with a frown, looking up from her book into the heiress's eyes.

"Yes. And Yang's. And JNPR's too if they have free time. I don't know how solid my father created it to be, but I have a feeling I'll need all the help I can get." Weiss said gravely, stressing how difficult the task might be.

"Why go through all that work?" Blake asked calmly. "I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to go through with it and get married?"

"It would be easier. Astronomically so." Weiss nodded in agreement. "But I can't for three reasons."

Blake widened her eyes slightly as the prompt for Weiss to continue, so she took a deep breath to steady herself and began.

"First, I need to do it for myself. I need to take control of my own life and not allow my father to make every major decision for me. It should be up to me if I get married, not some piece of paper that orders me around." Weiss said, feeling even lighter as she spoke her feelings aloud not just for Ruby, but for Blake. A faunus who was a friend, but one she wasn't terribly close with if you didn't count the occasions that they'd fought grimm or attended class together.

"Makes sense." Blake nodded, prompting Weiss to continue.

"Second is that I need to do it for Ruby. I made a promise to her before I knew about this contract, but I can't just break my promise. I never break my promises." Weiss said, hesitating at the end. "And the third reason is… well, it's sort of silly."

"Regardless, I'd like to hear." Blake stated as she checked the time quickly. Ruby would be back in a matter of moments.

"The third reason is also Ruby so you might just consider it a continuation of the second. If I'm married, I'll disappear from your lives. I know Ruby's not a child and she knows what would happen. But I can't put her through anything like that. I can't bring myself to cut the ties we've created. And not just Ruby and myself, the ties that we've created as a team. I can't be the one that does that to Ruby, to Yang, and also to you. I can't be that person." Weiss trembled and turned back to the stove to focus on stirring. "That's why I'll need your help."

"Alright then. Just let me know when you need it." Blake said as she rose to her feet.

Ruby entered the kitchen in clean clothes that were identical to her previous outfit though with much less dust clinging to them. She made to take the spoon over from Weiss who turned and walked out without another word.

"Is she okay?" Ruby asked, the concern in her voice heavy and obvious.

"She'll be fine. She just needs a moment to herself." Blake answered. "How about you go get your sister to clean up for dinner and I'll take over the stove?"

"Alright." Ruby passed the spoon over and left the room.

Blake listened carefully to the crash in the living room and Yang's surprised voice before Ruby responded tauntingly and then laughter echoed through the halls as quick footsteps ran up the stairs.

"Well, lets see how they did…" Blake mumbled to herself as she carefully picked up a spoon to taste her teammate's concoction. "Hmm… not bad."

Blake stirred it a few more times then removed the pot from the heat so the sauce would thicken. She sat back on the chair while she waited for the bread she'd made out of leftover ingredients in the kitchen. She knew it would turn out fine since she'd made it with fewer ingredients before and all that could happen was it turned out like cardboard. But with the few extra grams of flour and the spoon of yeast she'd found, it would be perfect.

She pulled out her book and started reading while she waited for the timer on her scroll to tick down. She managed to get so engrossed in the story that she hadn't noticed Yang come in the room and sit down beside her, making her jump at the sudden movement as Yang leaned down onto the counter.

"Don't sneak up on me!" Blake reprimanded her partner, playfully smacking her arm with her book.

"I don't sneak, you should know that." Yang replied with a grin. "I think you said I was 'like a berserking bull in a china shop' at some point."

"You are. And that's why you should always break something when you enter a room." Blake replied, returning to her book. She carefully kept the small smile that had started to stretch across her lips hidden.

"I would, but I don't think this house has enough left to support that habit, so we'll just have to settle for the normal routine." Yang commented, sounding as if she didn't actually care one way or the other. "Anyhow…"

Yang trailed off and the silence that followed in the wake of her unfinished thought was enough for the normally anti-social Blake to continue the conversation.

"Yes?" Blake prompted, turning to Yang who looked normal, except her eyes. Her eyes held a depth normally hidden to the outside world, and in that depth, concern was the foremost emotion that plagued her as she thought about what Blake could easily guess at. "Is it about the other half of our team?"

"Yeah… it's just… I don't know where to start." Yang said, letting out a deep sigh.

"How about the beginning?" Blake prompted, already prepared to continue acting as the team counsellor.

"Okay… well, don't tell them I told you, okay?" Yang asked to get an immediate nod from her teammate. "Remember that call I took right before the paint-ball fight?"

"Yeah, you seemed a bit confused after you hung up." Blake said, remembering that the moment Ruby and Weiss had left, the phone had sprung to life, interrupting her reading.

"Well, it was Weiss's older sister." Yang said. "She seemed to be sort of secretive, but what I managed to understand is that our heiress is apparently getting married to an heir. And if that's true, what the hell is she doing leading Ruby along?"

Blake lay her hand on Yang's shoulder as her eyes threatened to turn red as her aura flickered on the edge of emergence. She squeezed tightly until Yang took the signal and started breathing deeply.

"As it turns out, it seems that we all know about that now." Blake said once Yang's eyes had stayed their normal violet for a few moments without wavering. Those piercing violet ringed orbs snapped onto her own in a silent plea for information and Blake took a deep breath. "Yes, even Ruby knows about the impending marriage."

"And she's okay with it?" Yang asked incredulously, wondering where the little sister she knew not two weeks ago had gone.

"Of course she isn't. For that matter, neither is Weiss." Blake stated to make sure Yang knew that Ruby wasn't being played by Weiss. "By what I've heard, we may need to help Weiss get out of the contract that her sister is most likely going to deliver since she would have the resources to get an insider copy of it."

"And what if she can't? Then what?" Yang asked, riling herself up again. "What if she can't get out of the contract and ends up married to some asshole? What happens then? And what would happen to Ruby? She'd be beyond heartbroken."

"I think that's where she's hoping to get your help." Blake stated with a small grin that Yang had accidentally let slip her concern for their white haired teammate.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked slowly, not processing Blake's implication.

"Well, no offense, but you would likely be useless for sorting through a contract for a loophole." Blake stated slowly, hoping to explain to Yang her role without wasting the time that was slowly running out until Weiss inevitably rejoined them. "But your specialty is being able to think on your feet and predict the way people react. It's what makes your boxing a viable combat method. What you need to do is to figure out a plan B so that in the case that the rest of us can't break the contract, we have something else that can at the very least give us more time with it."

"So, like something that makes them call off the wedding like the church burning down?" Yang asked to a frustrated sigh from Blake.

"Think more along the lines of Weiss getting snowed in at some remote ski lodge so she can't get to the church." Blake stated, just spewing the first thing that popped into her head. "Something like that."

"But there aren't any mountains around here." Yang cocked her head to the side, a small grin making her lips twitch as she tried to hide it.

Blake was about to respond when her faunus hearing heard Weiss and Ruby walking down the stairs together. She turned off her scroll's alarm the exact moment it started and moved to the oven to pull the bread out.

"I know that. That's why it's your job." Blake hissed quietly as she purposely made noise with a selection of cutlery. "Now go make yourself useful and set the table."

"Sure thing." Yang nodded, noticing Weiss come into the room in an outfit slightly fancier than her usual attire. As she passed Weiss, she stopped and patted her shoulder. "I got your back, just leave it to me!"

Weiss looked at Yang as if she'd just sprouted wings and a snake's tongue as she left the kitchen to the adjoining dining room.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked in confusion, still looking after Yang. "Though I am somewhat relieved that she at the very least supports my relationship."

"Are you thinking she wouldn't?" Blake asked rhetorically as she waited for the bread to cool enough to cut.

"Actually, I thought she might have been a little bit hesitant." Weiss said. "But see? If Yang is fine with us, I'm sure your dad will be too."

"Uh… sure… if you say so." Ruby mumbled, fiddling with her hands on the edge of her skirt as she swayed between her own world and the real one.

Yang came back in to get bowls and plates when Ruby had replied, and looked over at her sister. She took a deep breath and leaned across the island where her and Weiss had taken seats.

"Hey Rubes… how you holding up?" Ruby looked up at Yang and shook her head, letting a long breath out as she closed her eyes.

"He's just going to hate it. I know it." Ruby replied quietly.

"Hey now. Hold on a minute. He might not be the best at talking, but I'm sure he'll be happy for you." Yang said as she took her sister's hand in hers and gestured for Weiss to take her other hand. "Now, I know right now I don't exactly have the right to give you advice."

"Yeah, because I'm the one announcing I'm gay and that my girlfriend is Weiss all over a single meal." Ruby laughed dryly.

"Well, there's that…" Yang agreed, joining the laugh for a moment before returning to her serious talk. "But I think it's more because I haven't completely accepted you and Weiss."

The room was silent while they waited on Yang's next words. It wasn't exactly the best time to be lost for words, but everyone could tell Yang was making sure there was no way to take her words the wrong way. She gently squeezed Ruby and Weiss's hands, getting their attention back before she continued.

"I love you Ruby. You know that. The only reason I haven't been able to accept you dating Weiss is because that means you don't need a big sister anymore. It means when you need help, it'll be Weiss that comes to your side. Sure I'll come if you call, but I'm smart enough to know you'll only need my help when Weiss's isn't enough." Yang said as she started to rub her thumbs across the back of the girls' hands. "But I'll get used to the idea, I know I will. I just need some more time to adjust. And that's why I want to tell you that dad will be the same way. He'll be sad because you won't need him as much, but I think he's already started to come to terms with that since you started combat school. In the end, what he really wants… what I want too, is for you to be happy. And if Weiss is who makes you smile, then go ahead and smile."

Yang clasped both of their hands together and let them intertwine their fingers. Then she clasped the ball of fingers in her hands and squeezed them gently.

"So yeah, if you need a big sister, I'm there… for both of you." Yang said. "And if dad doesn't support this right off the get-go, then we'll deal with it if that happens. But I have a feeling you'll be fine."

"Thanks Yang." Ruby smiled sadly at her sister. "I feel a bit better now."

"Alright! Oddly enough, that's exactly what I was aiming for!" Yang let go of her teammates hands and scooped the dishes off the counter before she left the room.

"You know, your sister definitely has her moments." Weiss stated while she caressed Ruby's hand, making the younger girl blush a little at the display of affection.

"I heard that!" Yang called from the other room, causing all three of her teammates to burst into laughter.


	42. Chapter 42

The door clicked open quietly and he stepped back inside his house. He was thankful that the operation took only slightly longer than he had expected. It was supposed to be his week off after all, but unfortunately people didn't just stop hurting themselves because Beacon had Winter break. If anything, there were more injuries since the mishaps that were usually taken care of by the school were now thrust on the local hospitals.

Still, he had to be thankful that he worked in one of the less busy of those hospitals. He hung his jacket on the hook in the hall and was surprised to hear laughter coming from the kitchen along with the smell of food that had just finished cooking.

"Girls, I'm home!" He called out and the laughter stopped. A moment later, Ruby was turning the corner and running up to him to give him one of her signature hugs. "Hey Ruby, what's this all of a sudden?"

"Um… uh… nothing?" Ruby stuttered. She was nervous, but about what it wasn't clear.

"Hey, dad." Yang greeted as she leaned against the door frame to the dining room. "Dinner just finished, so clean up."

"Yes, mam!" He replied with a mock salute that earned him one of her mocking grins. Yang seemed calm, so that ruled out any bad news to do with her.

Ruby let go of her father and allowed him to pass to the washroom off the kitchen.

"You know, he's already suspicious of you." Yang stated to Ruby as she took the lead back to the table where the food sat ready to be eaten and Blake and Weiss were on the far end of the table, away from their father.

"I didn't mean to make him suspicious, it just happened." Ruby mumbled as she took her seat.

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a father if I didn't pick up on those little things, now would I?" her father responded as he entered the room. "Now, I've already met Blake, and this must be Weiss Schnee. I must apologize again for our earlier introduction, my name is Taiyang."

"Nice to meet you sir. And it's nothing to apologize for." Weiss responded, standing from her chair to shake his hand. She took careful notice that he only introduced himself with his first name.

"Likewise, but don't think you have to be so formal with me. You are Ruby's guest after all." He replied kindly, patting her on the shoulder as he made his way to the head of the table to sit. "Now, let's eat before everything cools off."

The four teammates remained still as they watched their father take a slice of bread and carefully tasted the soup while he braced himself. After the first taste, he relaxed and kept eating. The girls breathed silent sighs of relief as they helped themselves to the fresh bread and stew.

Once they'd finished, a longer ordeal for Taiyang and his eldest daughter than for the rest of the table, Blake volunteered to clear the dishes. Once she'd left, Ruby stood, drawing an interested gaze from her father.

"Um… dad?" She asked timidly, as if she was already having second thoughts about her plan.

"Yes, Ruby? How can I help you?" Her father answered in a mockingly timid voice that got a suppressed giggle out of Yang. Ruby looked deflated and her father wiped the grin off his face and replied normally. "Sorry, Ruby. I couldn't resist. What did you want to say?"

Ruby looked to Weiss who gave the barest of nods before she returned her gaze to the table. She looked over at Yang who smiled one of her big sister smiles that said nothing could go wrong. And as Blake resumed her seat, she offered a small grin as her support. Ruby inhaled deeply and looked back at her father.

"I just wanted to say that I love you and please-don't-hate-me!" Ruby hung her head as she took another deep breath but seemed unable to continue.

"Did you blow up beacon and send everyone injured in the blast to my hospital?" Taiyang asked, seemingly serious. Ruby shook her head as an answer and he continued. "Then there's nothing you've done, and besides that one thing there's nothing you could ever do to make me hate you. And even then I'd get over it after an hour or two in surgery."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked cautiously as if afraid he was luring her into a trap.

"I'm sure. How many times has your sister done things that left me to bail her out. Literally, in one case." He laughed as his blond daughter shook her head in defeat.

"Okay…" Ruby took a deep breath and let it out before she started. "I know it's only been four months since I entered Beacon, but I've made a lot of friends and had plenty of new experiences. One of those was falling in love with my best friend."

"Oh, so that's what this is about!" Taiyang sighed as he leaned farther back into his chair. "I'm happy that you told me, Ruby. But I'm sure you understand that until I meet him, I can't give you my opinion which is what I'm guessing you're after. Not that it matters one way or another, you've always been as wayward as your mother. Thankfully you inherited your common sense from me so I'm almost sure you've picked a good one."

The atmosphere changed at the mention of Ruby's mother. Weiss watched Yang look from her father to Ruby with a hint of concern, but it seemed Ruby was okay with it. And she simply nodded.

"Okay then, on to the details." Taiyang said, reaching out and taking his daughter's hand that was fumbling with the edge of her skirt. "Start simple, what's his name?"

"Actually… about that…" Ruby laughed nervously as she took her hand back from him and clasped her hands behind her back.

"No… don't tell me…" Taiyang mocked shock as he put a hand to his head. "Due to some incompetent doctor, he was born and his birth certificate was left blank, so he has no name!"

His badly timed joke made everyone around the table start to laugh before the atmosphere returned and everyone fell silent once again.

"No… it's actually a she." Ruby corrected finally looking up at her father for his reaction.

What she didn't expect was the calm smile that remained frozen on his face. His reaction to her coming out of the closet was absolutely nothing. He simply nodded and continued to smile up at her.

"So… what's _her_ name, then?" He asked when it became apparent Ruby'd forgotten his question.

"Wait, so you mean you're okay with that?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

"What? Shouldn't I be? Or did you want me to go on some outrageous, semi-religious rant like on TV? I could probably remember most of the one from that black and white film we watched in the summer if you wanted…" He responded with his own offer.

"No, but… shouldn't you be more surprised?" Ruby asked again in confusion now more than disbelief.

"Trust me, I am surprised, but apparently not as much as you thought I'd be." He replied, his smile just growing slightly. "I guess you could say I'm less surprised than thankful."

"What? Why?" Ruby asked, her confusion only growing from his answer.

"Well, you are two years younger than the other students at your school." Taiyang started, waving for Ruby to sit back in her chair while they talked. "When you said you were dating, I was afraid I'd have to deal with a boy who didn't understand that you were at least two years younger than him. Believe it or not, I was a boy once and that would definitely be something difficult to deal with. Especially if the girl was someone as beautiful as one of my two daughters."

"Aw, shucks." Yang pretended to blush and got a laugh out of Ruby.

"Knowing that you're dating a girl doesn't change that, but it makes things easier since there are certain concerns that go out the window with a same sex relationship." He stated. "So what's her name?"

"Oh… Um…" Ruby hesitated and stood up again. "You've already met, but I'd like to introduce her properly as my girlfriend. Weiss, this is my dad. Dad, my girlfriend is Weiss Schnee."

"So, what do you see in Ruby?" Taiyang asked as he once again took Weiss's hand in a firm shake, but this time with a sly smile pulling at his lips.

"What? Oh…" Weiss blinked in surprise at the inquiry. Not that she hadn't been expecting something along similar lines, just at how quickly he jumped from one part of the conversation to the next. It actually explained some of Ruby's finer habits such as her method for studying before she'd managed to correct it. The thought brought a small smile to her lips as she looked over at her girlfriend. "I suppose what I see in her is… summarized by the word happiness."

"Good answer!" Taiyang laughed and released her hand. "I was just joking, though. What I really want to know is how my daughter managed to snag the richest girl on Remnant as her girlfriend."

"Well, I suppose you could say she came exploding into my life and wouldn't leave." Weiss answered honestly. For a moment there was silence and then Taiyang broke down into laughter and clutched his stomach.

"Details, please!" He managed to breathe out between his laughs and Weiss felt comforted that she wasn't being shut down like she was when joking with Yang in the room.

"I had just arrived on the landing platform, and Ruby plows into my suitcases full of dust." Weiss spoke with a grin while the others kept their silence. "I was furious with her and then when I think she isn't paying attention to me, she sneezes into the cloud of dust hovering around us, and there's still a scorch mark on the pavement where the fireball engulfed us."

"Sounds like fate to me." Both Yang and Taiyang spoke at the same time.

"But seriously, as long as you care for each other…" He looked from Weiss to Ruby who both nodded in turn. "Then I have nothing more to say other than take care of each other, and have fun. But not _that_ kind of fun."

"Dad!" Ruby interrupted at the suggestion, causing him to chuckle a bit more.

"Alright. I get it. I'll be quiet." Taiyang finished his sentence and muffled a yawn. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay. Just don't let me hear too much noise from your room, okay?"

"Dad!" Ruby whined again, blushing furiously. She quickly helped him out of his chair and started pushing him out of the room.

"That is much more fun than I thought it would be!" Taiyang commented as he leaned against Ruby. "Yang, you should get a girlfriend too, then I can have even more!"

"Not on your life!" Yang replied with a wink as he finally let Ruby push him out of the room. "So how are you? You look a little shell shocked."

"I'm not quite sure." Weiss answered honestly. She hadn't even started processing the entire event that had just concluded. All she knew for sure was there was apparently one less obstacle standing between her and Ruby.

"It's alright. I'm sure he knows that you two haven't gone that far." Yang stated as she stood.

Weiss felt her face flush with another blush as her teammates left her to her thoughts. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes while she sorted her emotions.

Of course she was happy that Ruby's father accepted their relationship, but it was still early. There were any number of things that could still go wrong. Namely, what he would think when he found out about her impending marriage. It's not that she wanted to keep it a secret, but at the same time she felt that she had a duty to Ruby's family to be honest. Maybe then she'd feel better, when she'd made her intentions towards Ruby clear to not only her girlfriend, but her family as well.

She pushed those thoughts from her head. She could worry about them later, after she calmed down from the stressful excitement that had hovered throughout the air all afternoon.

As she finally let out her breath, she relaxed into her chair and felt a large goofy smile tug her lips upwards. Yes, this was probably the happiest she'd been in a while, and she knew that at least for the time being, that was all that she wanted.

"Hey, um…" Ruby trailed off as she stopped in the doorway. Weiss opened her eyes and instantly felt her smile grow slightly larger. "You look happy."

"I am." Weiss replied as she got up to meet Ruby, threading her arm around Ruby's as she started to lead them up to Ruby's room to change into something more comfortable.

"Well… I mean you look really, really happy. Are you sure you're okay?" Ruby asked jokingly, only the slightest hint of concern behind her words as she followed Weiss up the stairs.

"I'm perfectly fine." Weiss replied with a small laugh. "I actually don't think I've been so happy for a long, long time."

"But what about-" Ruby started just to have her mouth covered by Weiss's delicate palm.

"Not today, okay? I haven't forgotten." Weiss said seriously, her smile fading at her reference. "I'm trying to take your advice, so I'm only going to worry when I can do something about it. Sound fair?"

Ruby nodded, shaking Weiss's hand from her mouth. The two entered Ruby's room and Ruby shut the door behind them quietly as if being cautious of others listening from down the hall. Weiss realized that it wouldn't be completely abnormal especially since Ruby's father had just found out about their relationship.

"So what do you want to do once we get changed?" Weiss asked as she bent over her suitcase.

"Um… well, I was sort of thinking of something, but…" Ruby trailed off as she uncharacteristically kicked the ground in embarrassment.

"What is it Ruby?" Weiss asked patiently as she placed her clothing on the bed and turned to face Ruby fully.

"Well, I know you're not exactly the biggest fan of movies…" Ruby mumbled.

"I'm not sure I want to go out tonight. Is there anything we can do in your house?" Weiss asked, trying to be kind since Ruby was obviously thinking of her.

"Well actually, the movie I wanted to watch is already downloaded on my scroll." Ruby said with a nervous laugh. "I was going to watch it whenever, but I thought you might want to watch it with me?"

Weiss couldn't find a valid argument to Ruby's proposition. They could really watch a movie on their scrolls anywhere in the world and it wouldn't matter as long as it was saved on the device. In other words, they didn't even have to leave the room. She nodded to herself, reminding herself once again that Ruby was the one who was always willing to try what she proposed, so she should be open to things Ruby proposed as well.

"Sure, lets get changed first though." Weiss smiled as she was nearly tackled in Ruby's excited hug. Ruby clung to her for a few seconds and Weiss combed her fingers through Ruby's hair, the sensation of Ruby's soft hair sliding against her fingers bringing a familiar sensation of contentment into her mind.

Just as fast as Ruby had come, she separated and collected her clothing from her dresser.

"I'll use the washroom since I'll be quicker." Ruby announced. "You can just change here. I'll knock before I come back."

"Okay." Weiss nodded, the logic already familiar to her as they'd used it their entire stay thus far.

Ruby disappeared, closing the door while Weiss stripped to her underwear. She reached out to her night gown on the bed but faltered when she saw Ruby's fresh pajamas laying neatly folded just inches away from her gown.

Weiss hesitated while she was still reaching for her gown, looking between her clothing and Ruby's. She knew they were both the same size, and that all the clothing was freshly laundered, but she was somewhat hesitant to get into the familiar gown.

Whether it was because of the rapidity that their relationship had progressed, or due to the somewhat unhealthy wish to see Ruby wearing her nightgown in her own bed, Weiss couldn't decide which pair of pajamas she wanted to wear, since Ruby most likely only had the one pair clean.

A sudden knock at the door sounded, making Weiss jump as if caught in the act of doing something wrong. Then she remembered that it was Ruby wanting to come in after she'd changed into the sweat pants and t-shirt she'd taken with her. Weiss hadn't taken any of that type of clothing with her, which had led to her current dilemma.

"Weiss? Are you done yet?" Ruby asked after she knocked a second time.

"No! Don't open the door yet!" Weiss ordered quickly, still unable to take the gown she'd set on the bed.

"What's taking so long? You never take this long!" Ruby complained as she tapped the wood of the door quietly in time with the clock on her night table.

"Pick a number between one and two." Weiss instructed, numbering her gown one and Ruby's pajamas two for the sake of decision making. That way, she thought, if Ruby picked two, at least she could play it off as a fifty fifty chance. She hoped that Ruby would pick one, and that she'd just stop being so stupid.

"Two! Can I come in now?" Ruby asked again, the tapping continuing relentlessly.

"No. Just wait a little longer!" Weiss spoke, as she picked up Ruby's pajamas and made the quick decision to wear them the same way Ruby always did. That meant she quickly slipped out of her bra and underwear before she put on the tank top and bottoms, the different sensation of the clothing giving her goosebumps but also a feeling of justification. She turned to the door and stood, suddenly self-conscious as she took a deep breath into her lungs. "Alright. You can come in now."

"Finally!" Ruby sighed, her voice both relieved and sarcastic at the same time.

She opened the door and shut it behind her without looking at Weiss. As she turned, her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open in a slight gape upon seeing Weiss in her pajamas.

"I… uh…" Weiss couldn't form words to express her uneasy emotion that sprang into being as Ruby glared at her, her eyes different from how she normally looked at her. But exactly how they were different, she couldn't tell. If she could describe them in one word though, it would be devouring. Ruby seemed to be drinking in her appearance, much like she had that night at the new years dance, but differently, very, very differently.

"You…" Ruby stopped and swallowed, her voice cracking as she tried to speak. "You look…"

"Are you alright with this?" Weiss asked tentatively. She was afraid she'd pushed Ruby farther into their relationship than maybe she was willing to go at this point.

"Yes!" Ruby's answer sprung quickly and clearly from her mouth that she snapped closed as if just realizing she'd been gaping at the heiress. "Oh, god yes."

Weiss waited for Ruby to continue, but she didn't. She simply stared, her eyes slowly roving from Weiss's face where she was definitely blushing a bright red, down to the black tank-top that contrasted with her pale skin brilliantly and the red heart that stretched just barely over her chest, down to the white bottoms with pink hearts that fell to her ankles and stopped just an inch above her feet which were now bare of their socks.

"So… about that movie…" Weiss prompted when it became apparent that Ruby was just going to stand there and look at her if she didn't do anything to distract her. It's not as if the attention was uncomfortable, but it was starting to feel embarrassing with Ruby silently memorizing every detail of her appearance.

"Uh, right." Ruby snapped her head up and away from Weiss, her face flooding with a blush as she realized she'd been staring for at least a solid minute. She quickly turned back to the door and locked its deadbolt with a flick of her wrist. "I was thinking we could just watch on my bed?"

Weiss couldn't help but feel nervous with the way Ruby'd just been watching her, and now the casual invitation to her bed where they'd inevitably cuddle together to watch the movie on Ruby's scroll. The thought made Weiss want to run and she didn't exactly know why.

"What about your sister? Doesn't she want to watch the movie too?" Weiss asked, knowing that Yang was the biggest movie fan on the whole team, and possibly in all of Beacon as well.

"Yeah, but…" Ruby trailed off, still avoiding looking at Weiss as she made her way to sit near the head of the bed.

"What is it?" Weiss asked, sitting beside Ruby and placing her hand on her leg as assurance that whatever it was, she wouldn't be angry.

Ruby surprised her and pulled her into a passionate kiss that soon had Weiss gasping at how fierce and forcefully Ruby explored her mouth, sucking on her tongue as if it was the sweetest thing in the world, and maybe to Ruby it was.

Ruby broke away, placing her forehead down on Weiss's shoulder as Weiss caught her breath and allowed the sensation to fade.

"You… I don't want anyone to see you." Ruby whispered as if she was revealing a secret she was ashamed of.

"Why not?" Weiss asked, confused at Ruby's response to her outfit choice.

"You look amazing." Ruby replied sullenly.

"Isn't that good?" Weiss asked, her eyebrows rising in surprise at Ruby's logic.

"No." Ruby sighed as she moved so she was staring directly into Weiss's eyes. "I want to be the only one to see you in my clothes. Especially when you look as sexy as you do now."

Ruby's eyes remained serious for a moment after she'd finished her sentence then widened slightly at the realization that she'd said something she'd obviously meant to keep to herself.

"You're jealous." Weiss almost laughed as Ruby looked down sheepishly, but tightened her grip on the embrace. Weiss saw the confirmation on Ruby's face and in the embrace and started laughing, returning the hug.

"It's not funny." Ruby mumbled grumpily as she burrowed her face into Weiss's neck. The contact of her lips made Weiss freeze. The sensation of Ruby lightly pressing her lips to Weiss's jugular shutting her up as she closed her eyes into the barely there touch.

When Ruby removed her lips, Weiss felt her racing heartbeat that was thundering in her head as her heart forced blood around her body, giving it a slight pink that was normal only when she'd been exercising strenuously. She shook off the feeling Ruby'd sent into her and calmed down as she pushed Ruby away from her, holding her head in between her hands so she was forced to look her in the eyes.

"If it really means that much to you, we can stay here and watch the movie." Weiss spoke, trying to push the thoughts of what she'd much rather be doing out of her head. "And you don't need to be jealous. Especially of Yang and Blake."

"I know…" Ruby sighed, leaning back against the headboard, forcing Weiss to release her hold. "It's just… I didn't really realize it until the other day, but… we haven't been around them much."

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked with a small laugh. "We've shared a room with them since the start of the year."

"That's not what I meant." Ruby said, sitting back up. "I mean as a couple."

"I suppose you're right." Weiss agreed. "But you'll get used to it."

"But what if I don't?" Ruby asked worriedly. "What if I turn into one of those people who can't bear to see you smile at anyone who isn't me, or that person who ends up going crazy and makes you stay at home all the time."

Weiss almost laughed at Ruby's silly question, but realized she was being at least partially serious.

"I suppose if you can't stand me smiling at anyone, I'll just have to continue on like normal." Weiss smiled lovingly at Ruby, knowing she wasn't putting two and two together. "When was the last time you actually saw me smile at anyone when you weren't around?"

"Uh… how would I know if you smiled if I wasn't around?" Ruby asked, confused with Weiss's question.

"Then here's what I'd tell you… if you aren't around, I can't smile." Weiss started, making sure Ruby knew she was just addressing the concerns she'd raised. "And if I smile at anyone, it's only because you were there to make me happy enough to smile. Does that work?"

"Uh… I guess…" Ruby nodded and smiled a little at Weiss's words.

"And as for keeping me inside, number one, what would you do to keep me there? If I want to go out, I'll go where I want." Weiss stated firmly, making sure Ruby knew there was no way she'd ever be ordered around, well, at least not anymore. "And two, if I always stayed at home, how do you think you'd be able to show off to the world what an amazingly beautiful and talented girlfriend you have?"

Ruby laughed at Weiss's second response and couldn't help commenting. "And I guess you'd want to show me off also."

"Exactly. So you shouldn't be concerned." Weiss said, giving Ruby a small peck on her lips. "Not to mention that you aren't the type of person to get controllingly possessive…. But if you were to get a little possessive like you did a few moments ago, I wouldn't mind too much."

Ruby blushed at Weiss's indirect assertion that she'd enjoyed their kiss. She nodded sheepishly and gave Weiss another kiss as thanks.

"So I guess we should watch the movie, huh?" Ruby asked.

"I'm not tired yet, so if you want to stay in this room then you better have something for us to do." Weiss stated sarcastically at Ruby's usual self returning.

"Alright! Then get ready to watch the most awesome movie of all time! It's got car chases, gun fights, a bad guy and the hero is the only one who can do anything about him!" Ruby announced as she loaded up her scroll and moved the pillows on her headboard.

"This sounds like the description of all the movies Yang has ever talked about." Weiss stated as she positioned herself beside Ruby.

"I guess. But they all have a story behind them. It's not just explosions and gunfights because its cool." Ruby said to a skeptical look from Weiss. "Fine… mostly because its cool but there's still a story."

"I suppose I'll judge that on my own." Weiss said with a smile, giving Ruby the okay to start the movie. After a couple minutes as Ruby held the scroll, Weiss noticed the angle was slowly changing so she was starting to get a distorted view of the screen as Ruby undoubtedly started to get lost in the gunfights and explosions that started within the first few minutes. "Can you turn it back to me a little?"

Ruby silently complied, turning the device so she could once again watch as the hero's squad moved through some hideout where there was supposed to be a drug lord. She supposed that's what constituted the start to these types of movies as an excuse to jump straight to the action.

Once again, after a few minutes, Ruby's hand started turning back to herself as she became so involved in the movie, she forgot to pay attention to how she was holding the device.

Weiss was going to ask her to move it back so she could watch when another possibility crossed her mind. The way Ruby was sitting made for the perfect way for her to cuddle up and watch the movie without having to keep interrupting since her point of view would be resting almost directly below Ruby's.

The thought made her cheeks burn, but at the same time she realized she had no reason not to. After all, both her and Ruby had gotten closer to each other over the past few days, and every night that they slept in the same bed Ruby would end up clinging to her as if she were a stuffed animal. Logically, there was no reason that the inverse was anything less than normal.

So with that thought in her brain, Weiss slid down on the bed slightly and turned so she could rest her head just below Ruby's chin on her chest. She wrapped her arms around Ruby's waist and even entwined one of her legs over Ruby's so they were connected completely.

Weiss felt Ruby lay a lingering kiss on the back of her head as she wrapped her arm around her shoulders and they continued to watch the movie.

Weiss remained like that for the rest of the movie. It turns out she actually enjoyed watching it much more than she thought she would. But whether or not that was due to actually enjoying the action and plot line or because she could hear Ruby's heart beat with only the slightest of readjustments, she couldn't tell. Maybe she'd watch it again on her own and see if she enjoyed it equally.

"So how was that?" Ruby asked quietly as if she wasn't sure if Weiss was awake. Ruby's hand slowly stroked Weiss's hair while she pulled out the pin that kept it in the usual ponytail.

"It was good." Weiss said, deciding she didn't really care anymore. Whether it was good or not, she was able to spend some down time with Ruby. A commodity that she knew would be in short supply in the very near future.

"I knew you'd like it." Ruby said as Weiss turned to face her. "Want to watch number two?"

"There's a second one?" Weiss asked, surprised that Ruby wasn't watching a new movie.

"Yeah, there's four and another one is coming out in a couple of months." Ruby said enthusiastically. "So you wanna watch the sequel?"

"Not today. I think I'm ready to turn in. How about you?" Weiss asked, knowing Ruby was probably hoping she'd say yes.

"I guess I am a bit tired." Ruby's yawn confirmed her statement. "Maybe tomorrow night?"

"Sure." Weiss smiled and gave Ruby a small kiss before sinking down on the bed and pulling at the covers. "It's a date."


	43. Chapter 43

Weiss awoke to the emptiness of Ruby's bed. Not that waking up in an empty bed was odd per say. Only that Ruby almost routinely woke after her, and when she did wake up earlier, she'd made it a habit to stay until Weiss had awoken as well.

So as she sat up and surveyed the empty room, the emptiness of Ruby missing was making her at least slightly uneasy. She could tell Ruby had been gone for a while since the bed beside her was cool save the part where she'd been sleeping. Her night gown that she'd given Ruby for the previous night lay across the corner post of the bed, telling Weiss that wherever Ruby had gone, she'd needed to get dressed.

Weiss looked at the time on her scroll to find it only reading nine thirty in the morning, which surprised her since she'd assumed it was much later already for Ruby to have left before she'd awoken. By her math, she would have had to leave at least half an hour previously.

Weiss rubbed what sleep remained in her eyes out and started the trek down to the kitchen. Most mornings Blake was already up and cooking Yang breakfast. Weiss would have put her money on Ruby being on the kitchen to wait for food like her sister since it was often enough she complained about a lack of snacking food.

Weiss walked out of the room and down the stairs, the gloom in the hall somewhat comforting in comparison to the usual brightness of the sun reflecting off the snow outside.

Upon entering the kitchen, she found it abandoned. Weiss was about to continue her search for her girlfriend when her stomach let out a quiet growl. Weiss turned around in the doorway and returned to the fridge. If she started cooking, Ruby was sure to show up. After all, the one thing she could say about both of the sisters was they possessed an undeniable attraction to the smell of cooking.

Weiss selected a pair of pans and pulled a package of bacon and a carton of eggs from the fridge. She set both pans on the stove and started cooking. She'd never actually made bacon before but she knew the concept, so it couldn't be that difficult. She cracked an egg once the bacon started to sizzle and started making scrambled eggs.

After she'd almost finished the eggs, the bacon started hissing and the bubbling fat in the pan started spitting little bits of burning oil out, catching her by surprise as the first tiny droplet landed on the back of her arm.

Weiss yelped more from surprise than pain as her aura quickly absorbed most of the burn, leaving her with only a small splotch of skin that felt warmer than the surrounding area.

Weiss took the eggs off the element and stepped away as more little droplets of oil splashed out of the pan, only a couple drops finding their way to her cheek and right foot. Weiss quickly started looking through the cupboard for something to cover the pan with and was surprised when Blake stepped into the room. Quickly, as if she had known the situation before she'd even entered, she stepped past Weiss, her clothing acting as a shield from the burning grease.

She opened a cupboard and pulled a mesh shield out and placed it over the pan, stopping the burning oil from escaping.

"Your first time making bacon?" Blake asked as Weiss stood and went to the sink to get a dish rag to wipe where she'd been hit with the splashing liquid.

"Yes. Thank you for helping, by the way." Weiss said as she passed the cloth to Blake who wiped a couple drops from her hand. "How did you know where to find that?"

"Yang had me make bacon the first two mornings we were here." She said with a grin. "I told her if she wanted me to make it again, she'd better think of something to repay me with. She hasn't done anything noteworthy, so no bacon."

Weiss found herself smiling a little at the antics of her teammates. "You'd think Yang would take something like that seriously."

"Yeah, I thought she would too." Blake admitted. "Maybe you should ask her about it."

"Why?" Weiss asked, confused at the deferral.

"Because she's coming down the stairs right now. She probably smelled the meat and woke up." Blake laughed. Weiss's slight frown was all the info she needed to know what Weiss's intentions had been. "But I'm guessing you're making this for another member of our team."

"You would be correct." Weiss said with a nod. Blake remained silent until Yang walked in to the room.

"No, it's not for you." She said as Yang opened her mouth to comment on the smell.

"What? But I thought you finally gave in and decided to make your favorite partner some delicious bacon again!" Yang groaned as Blake moved away from the stove.

"Actually, Weiss was making it for Ruby." Blake stated as she took a seat. "And if you don't mind, can I have these eggs before they get cold?"

"Oh, sure. I'll just make more." Weiss nodded while she pulled out a small stack of plates. Blake took the entire first batch and started eating silently.

"I would ask but…" Yang trailed off, looking up at Weiss with what must have passed as her version of puppy dog eyes. Weiss found that the look on Yang had absolutely no effect on her, which made her realize it was only ever Ruby that could pull something like that and get away with it.

"First, because you tried to use puppy dog eyes, no." Weiss said and Yang slammed her face down into the counter, her hair flooding around her face making it look like a golden pile of fine string sitting on the counter. "Next, because I was going to offer regardlessly, would you like some breakfast Yang?"

Yang's head snapped up, a look of disbelief plastered on her face. "Who are you and what have you done to the Ice Queen?"

"Careful I don't purposely burn everything I give you." Weiss replied with the usual venom that she used when anyone except Ruby and her sister called her by a nickname.

"There's the heiress we know and love!" Yang cheered as she sat back into her chair.

"That's right." Weiss replied, turning back to the stove to check on the bacon. "Did you want any of this, Blake?"

"No thank you. I'm not a fan of pork." Blake replied as she continued her eggs.

"I'll take her share!" Yang spoke up quickly before Weiss could even open her mouth.

"I don't doubt that at all." Weiss sighed as she looked out the two doorways in the room. No Ruby.

"What's up?" Yang asked, her tone calmer and gentler as if someone had flipped a switch in the fighter's head.

"Do you know where Ruby's gone to?" Weiss asked as she carefully removed the cover from the bacon and flipped the pieces before adding fresh pieces to the space in the pan that had opened as they shrunk.

"No clue. Doesn't she normally wake up after you?" Yang asked.

"She was gone this morning. My scroll didn't have a message and she didn't leave anything that I'd find." Weiss listed off. Normally she would have been more concerned, but they were in Ruby's house. The one place no one would expect her to be. Not to mention that she was fairly certain she'd cuddled with Ruby most of the night.

"Did you try sending her a message?" Yang asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well…" Weiss felt like hitting herself as she replaced the guard on the pan and started to make a plate of eggs for Yang.

"You didn't did you?" Yang asked as her grin stretched across her face.

"I didn't want to bother her. If she'd wanted me to know where she went, she would have given me a message." Weiss said as if that had been her reasoning. Really, she had still been waking up so she wasn't thinking properly.

"Then there's no problem, is there?" Yang asked with her smirk holding strong on her face. For a long while, the only sound in the room was Weiss chopping at the scrambled eggs as they finished cooking and the sizzle of bacon as it shrunk into its finished form.

"I really hate you sometimes." Weiss stated as she filled a plate with eggs and bacon before she set it down in front of Yang.

"If you weren't already dating Ruby, I'd kiss you." Yang replied in jest as she scooped up a fork full of the fresh food and shoveled it into her mouth. "This is really good."

"Thank you, and if I weren't dating Ruby and you kissed me, I'd probably run you through with the first object I could find." Weiss stated simply, knowing that Yang loved the back and forth they often participated in even if it wasn't always friendly.

"Just not with the spatula, okay? I might have a bit of trouble getting that one out." Yang replied with a wink indicating her understanding.

Weiss turned back to get her own breakfast started. Ruby still hadn't shown up so she figured she must not be hungry. Though it was odd for her to miss the opportunity to eat. She shrugged it off as she finished the last of the bacon and moved the pan to the counter to cool. Her eggs weren't far behind.

She only took two pieces of the bacon before she placed what was remaining on Yang's plate. Yang's eyes went wide as the recently cleansed plate turned suddenly full of bacon. Those wide eyes looked up at Weiss, and that feeling that she was looking at a puppy came back full force, reminding her of Ruby's absence.

"Just eat it or it'll go in the trash." Weiss said before turning to her own food. Yang didn't object and started crunching the slightly crispy bacon an entire strip at a time.

It didn't take long for her to finish and take her and Blake's dishes to the sink to start washing. When she finished, she started on the now cool frying pans and finished with Weiss's plate when Weiss had finished her breakfast. Weiss started to leave the room, intending on going up to her shared room to find her scroll and ask Ruby where she was, when Yang's voice stopped her.

"Weiss? Just for future reference if you don't want to make it look like you slept with Ruby, don't wear her pajamas, okay?" Yang said, her voice toned into the big sister tone she took when dealing with Ruby's issues. The fact she was using it towards her, threw Weiss off balance.

"Um… okay?" Weiss answered, tripping over the comeback she would have normally used had Yang's voice not been so uncharacteristically caring.

"And if Ruby left her scroll in her room, she's still in the house, so don't worry." Yang continued as if she could read Weiss's mind of her intention.

"Right." Weiss made her leave. She couldn't figure out how Yang had come to care about her, but in contrast to the rude pranks she often pulled earlier that year, it was a bit of a relief that they'd moved past the baiting and hostility to at least establish a tentative friendship for Ruby's sake.

She went up to her room and as had been predicted, Ruby had left her scroll not on the night table, but on the dresser next to her door. According to Yang, that meant Ruby was still in the house, so Weiss settled back into the bed. Her feet were cold from the floor so she pulled the covers up and decided that while Ruby was out she might as well watch the movie they'd watched the previous night to see if she actually cared for it or if it was just the fact that she'd watched it with Ruby that she liked.

Two and a half hours later, Weiss could honestly say that Ruby hadn't had as big an impact on her perception as she'd originally thought. The movie, while unnecessarily violent at times with its blatant ignorance of general physics at others, was actually quite satisfying. Even the humor that was introduced such as trucks carrying propellants not blowing up and one carrying feather pillows going up in a massive fireball managed to make her grin as the heroes looked at each other and cheered while stating that they hadn't seen that coming.

Weiss looked up the rest of the series to find that only one of the main characters seemed to carry over from one movie to the next. The one she'd watched with Ruby, he'd played opposite a fox faunus whereas in the others he played opposite a rotund police officer, something that looked like a high ranking military official, and someone whose body musculature looked oddly similar to Jaune's.

She resisted the urge to watch any of them and instead decided to download the two she found most interesting, namely the one with the rotund police officer and the not Jaune. She put her scroll down on the night table and yawned. She hadn't exactly had much down time over the holiday and just lazing around in bed was making her tired. She checked the time which read just after noon. She normally would be eating lunch around this time, but she found the breakfast she had was sufficient enough to leave her still satisfied.

With nothing else to do since Ruby was probably back to her usual pastime of maintaining her scythe, Weiss slipped farther down under the covers and buried her face in the pillow. She knew she was blushing as she slowly inhaled the scent Ruby had left behind, regardless of how clean the sheets were. It was the smell that was simply absorbed by sleeping in the same bed every single day for years on end.

But regardless of how perverted her actions made her look, Weiss enjoyed the scent of Ruby that normally accompanied her everywhere. Except now that Ruby was off doing whatever she was doing, Weiss had to settle for the cool sheets that only retained the faintly reminiscent trace of the girl she loved more than her responsibility as the heiress to the most wealthy family on the planet.

Her smile grew as she took in the observation she'd made. She loved Ruby. Not just in the normal sense of the word. Not just because of that feeling of attraction most would probably base their relationship on. And not just the friendship they'd developed.

No, Weiss knew she'd do anything, give anything for Ruby to stay by her side. Even if she was a dolt at times. Even when her cravings for sugar became downright unbearable to deal with. And even when she did something wrong with the right intentions. There was very little Ruby could do wrong in her eyes, and maybe that was why she could tolerate Yang, why she'd gotten used to the blond rather than just shut her out. Maybe a love similar to that was what had driven Yang to treat her as if she was also her sister. It was a grounding thought that Yang considered her worth such treatment just because she made Ruby happy.

But no, that wasn't it. Yang knew that she might be unwillingly ripped out of their lives. Was it pity that drove Yang to support her? Or was it her faith?

Did Yang believe so strongly that she could get out of her marriage? Or maybe that's just how she thought. Always against the odds. It would make sense considering her semblance made her the most dangerous when she was about to go down. The thought confused Weiss and she felt no trouble letting it go. Whatever the reason, at least at that moment, she had a family. She had Ruby and Yang. She was fairly certain she had the support of their father, and Blake might as well have been another sister the way they were now able to get along. Then there was her legitimate sister. Winter was for all intents and purposes, caught between her two lives. One wanted nothing but to stay with Ruby, free, and the other had the duty to uphold the Schnee family name.

But regardless, the warm feeling of being cared about by so many people at once made her smile just as much as she had the previous evening after she'd gotten the all clear from Taiyang to continue dating Ruby. She nuzzled her face deeper into the pillow and sighed as she relaxed even further into the warm covers. Ruby's bed really was more comfortable than she'd expected it to be.


	44. Chapter 44

Weiss awoke to the feel of a body pressed up against her back. For a second she froze as she remembered she'd fallen asleep alone. She relaxed as the familiar scent of Ruby entered her nose, telling her who the unknown cuddler was. She felt the gentle embrace of the arm across her stomach and the hard knees pressed in behind her own. Even the gentle breath that fell across the hair at her back helped her relax as she knew that Ruby wouldn't ever lay anything but a loving finger on her.

In the midst of her contentment, she felt her stomach growl and she just slightly reacted by curling away from Ruby as if it would stop the sound from reaching her ears if she was awake. Luck was not with her as Ruby started quietly giggling as she tightened her embrace and moved so she could kiss Weiss on the cheek.

"Getting hungry?" Ruby asked in a whisper when Weiss turned her face to look at her.

"A little. I skipped lunch." Weiss stated with a slight smile. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I have a few…" Ruby suggested, leaning back down and placing her lips gently on Weiss's.

The two kissed slowly for a long while, eventually readjusting their positions so Ruby hovered over Weiss with the help of one of Weiss's hands while the other was threaded together with Ruby's and forgotten at their sides.

They broke apart just as gently as they'd come together. Neither one eager to break the comfortable silence of the room.

However, Weiss's stomach had no qualms with doing it for them and a rather loud growl made Ruby burst into giggles and Weiss's blush deepen in embarrassment.

"As much as I love kissing you, I don't think your tongue is the cuisine my stomach requires." Weiss joked as Ruby moved off of her.

"Fair enough. There's always dessert." Ruby grinned as she jumped up. "Now get dressed in whatever you want that's not my pajamas, and meet me in the workshop when you're ready!"

Weiss nodded and Ruby was almost out of the door before what she said registered.

"Wait! Did you say the workshop?" Ruby nodded excitedly in response. "Not the kitchen?"

"Nope! I have a surprise for you!" Ruby squealed eagerly.

"Can it wait till I have something to eat?" Weiss asked patiently. "I can make us something quickly if you want."

"No dice, Weiss!" Ruby giggled at the rhyme. "Just trust me, okay?"

"I trust you, Ruby." Weiss said seriously. "Are you sure it can't wait five minutes though?"

"Nope, it's already been waiting five minutes and five more would be pushing it." Ruby said before she disappeared.

"Sometimes, what that girl says gives me a bad feeling…" Weiss grumbled to herself as she pulled herself out of bed and quickly dressed in her usual outfit. She decided she'd leave her scroll as she noticed Ruby had left hers. After all, whatever Ruby had to show her couldn't take that long.

Weiss came out of the twisting dark stairwell to find Ruby standing and tapping her foot impatiently as if she'd been waiting for a while.

"What took you so long?" Ruby asked as Weiss closed the door behind her.

"I didn't want to trip down the stairs." Weiss replied. "Plus, I'm still not used to that staircase. It's kind of steep."

"Well, come on!" Ruby took her hand and almost pulled her across the room to the door she'd been kept from opening the day they'd cleaned. Ruby stopped at the door and turned and took Weiss's other hand so she was holding both her hands. She looked into Weiss's eyes for a moment before she blinked and looked down at their hands. "Do you trust me?"

"Ruby." Weiss found it almost ridiculous that Ruby was asking that again. But then again, she'd needed a great deal of reassurance that Ruby actually cared for her. Maybe this was Ruby's hurdle that she needed to overcome. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course!" Ruby answered with a vigorous nod.

"Then trust that my answer hasn't changed in the three minutes since you asked me in your room. And trust that it won't change unless you give me a very good reason to change it." Weiss replied. "I trust you more than I have ever trusted anyone on Remnant. That includes my father, who as I'm sure you know, I trusted with my entire life up until just recently."

"Okay… are you sure?" Ruby asked quietly as if she was expecting Weiss to pull some cruel joke out of her statement.

"I'm sure Ruby." Weiss replied. "I probably trust you as much as I trust myself. At times I might even trust you more."

"Really?" Ruby asked as if she didn't fully believe Weiss's words.

"I don't think I've ever been more serious, Ruby." Weiss replied before stepping forward and pressing a quick kiss to Ruby's cheek. "I love you and I trust you."

"O-okay." Ruby stuttered at the tone of Weiss's voice. Weiss really was serious, and everything she did pointed to the same conclusion. Her tone, her body language, and even her eyes had gone hard as she spoke. Hard, but not cold as they'd been when they'd first met. It was the look of resolve that spoke through in her tone that was more serious than Ruby had ever heard, even when she had informed her father of their relationship. Ruby nodded in acceptance of Weiss's response then repeated it out loud once more. "Okay."

"So what did you ask me to come down for?" Weiss asked kindly, feeling that Ruby's moment of insecurity had passed.

"Actually, can you close your eyes first?" Ruby asked glancing at the door at her back.

Weiss hesitated, but knew that whatever Ruby wanted to show her was waiting behind that piece of wood. She wanted to know what was so important that Ruby would want to keep it secret till the last possible minute, but it was Ruby's turn to trust that she hadn't made up her statement. Weiss closed her eyes and felt Ruby's hands leave her own.

Weiss stood still, simply waiting patiently before she heard the door click open and the hinges squeak only slightly as the door was opened wide. Weiss felt Ruby's hands take hers again and gently start pulling.

"Keep your eyes closed, I'll guide you, okay?" Ruby instructed and Weiss nodded her understanding. There was no reason to speak when this was most definitely Ruby's show.

Ruby walked her into the room and stopped her gently. She turned her and stood directly behind her before she applied a slight pressure to Weiss's back. After only two steps, Ruby pulled her to a stop.

"In front of you there are two steps that are about two inches high and eight inches long." Ruby informed her before she urged her to continue moving. Weiss carefully lifted her foot and felt her foot land on the short step. She readjusted her foot so it was completely on the step before she took the second step. Ruby continued to guide her three steps farther before she stopped again. "Okay, when I say, open your eyes."

"Okay." Weiss responded as Ruby adjusted her angle and stepped away again.

Ruby seemed to have gone to shut the door as the quiet click of the lock echoed in the silence. "Okay, now."

Weiss opened her eyes and froze. If Ruby's ceiling was beautiful, then what she was looking at was a god's collection. Countless art easels stood staggered around the center stage she stood atop of. Paintings of everything from nature to cities to flowery hills, and even a few of grimm all surrounded her, their brilliant colors and lifelike appearances making her wonder if they were actually photographs at times. But no, they were far more detailed than any digital device was capable of capturing.

"Do you like it?" Ruby asked nervously as Weiss turned to take in more of the art, her eyes darting from one painting to the next, as if afraid she only had a small amount of time to take it all in. But in a way, she did. There was so much that she could study a single painting and still not see everything it had to offer after a month.

Weiss continued to look at every painting she could, it was impossible not to. Just as she was turning back to where Ruby had initially directed her, she jumped as Ruby was standing directly in front of her.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked quietly. She was nervous. Weiss could tell by the way she bit her bottom lip and the way she wasn't making eye contact.

"Your mother painted all of these, didn't she?" Weiss asked quietly while she stepped closer to Ruby to offer some comfort to the girl.

"Yeah, she did." Ruby nodded.

"They're the most wonderful paintings I've ever seen." Weiss said honestly. "And I've been to every major art museum on Remnant."

"Really?" Ruby asked, her silver eyes fluttering as they made contact with ice blue. "You aren't just saying that?"

"No… I'm glad you brought me in here." Weiss smiled and gave Ruby a hug to show her appreciation.

"The only ones allowed in here are my family." Ruby spoke into Weiss's ear. "Dad, Yang, Qrow, and me."

Weiss remained quiet, letting Ruby say what she needed to. She already knew where this was going, but at the same time she was glad that Ruby could accept her the way she'd accepted Ruby. And that's when it struck Weiss. Other than her father and his business plans, there was absolutely nothing opposing their relationship. Everyone was supporting them. The thought that the only one going against them was her father made her blood boil, but Ruby's voice threw whatever anger she had out of her mind.

"I wanted to bring you here to tell you that…" Ruby hesitated as if she was afraid of putting voice the obvious implication. "Weiss, I love you…. And I want you to know that whatever happens, I'll always consider you part of my family."

"Ruby…" Weiss didn't know how to respond. It wasn't as if she didn't have a family of her own, but that seemed to make the fact that it felt like she was an orphan a hundred times worse. But Ruby herself, honestly and wholeheartedly accepting her into her family… it was almost too much.

Ruby felt Weiss's breathing hitch, then again as she tightened her grip. Ruby pulled Weiss closer, nuzzling her face into the crook of her neck, leaving a simple peck before she moved on so her mouth rested next to her girlfriend's ear.

"Shh…" Ruby whispered quietly. She would have spoken more, but it didn't seem that was what Weiss wanted. Ruby felt the difference in the way Weiss held her. It was only slight, but enough that she could tell their relationship had changed. At that moment, Weiss clung to her as if she were drowning. But it wasn't desperate. Not desperate, but so much more imperative. It was as if she literally needed Ruby to survive. Her arms clung tight, but at the same time were loose enough to remove if Ruby wanted to. She didn't.

Ruby felt her shoulder grow damp over the following minutes as she slowly started to rub circles on the heiress's back. Weiss slowly stopped shaking and released Ruby. Ruby didn't step away, only leaning slightly so she could look Weiss in the face.

Weiss's eyes were red from the tears they'd just finished shedding and her cheeks were decorated with the trails they'd left. But beneath her eyes and nose, her lips were stretched in the happiest smile Ruby had ever seen on her face. It wasn't large, but there was no denying the happiness she exuded as she parted her lips.

"I love you so much…" Weiss's voice cracked and a fresh set of tears started flowing down her face. "And I'd be honoured if you'd agree to be part of my family as well. Even if we're not as close as your family, we never turn our backs on each other."

"Really?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Of course… can I tell you something?" Weiss asked quietly in return. Ruby nodded and Weiss gave her a quick peck on her lips before she continued. "I was worried when I woke up this morning and you were gone. Yang and Blake helped me calm down even though I knew there wasn't a problem. Its just that yesterday a lot of stuff happened and I was afraid it was a dream."

"It wasn't a dream, Weiss." Ruby spoke seriously and happily. "My entire family knows about us now."

"And I'm really happy about that, but what I meant was that I was afraid I'd dreamed about yesterday, but what made me really realize it wasn't just a dream, was Yang." Weiss said. Ruby seemed slightly surprised so she continued. "Yang is still Yang, but this morning she didn't treat me like her teammate. She treated me like a sister. And that's when I realized it was real. Yesterday was real, our relationship was real. I realized it was the most real and amazing thing that you've given me and keep giving me. I just wish I could give you the same."

"You already do, Weiss." Ruby replied. If her smile was already glowing bright, then now it was shining. "Every time you kiss me, or smile at me or hold my hand. Every morning when I wake up to find us cuddled together or when you wake up and wait for me to wake too. Even your quiet laugh that sends tingles up my spine tells me that you love me in a thousand different ways. Even when I met your family… well okay, bad example, but your sister was nice. The way she smiled at you told me that all she cared about was your happiness. That's why she's bringing you the contract. Because she knows how you feel and all she wants is for you to live the way you want to."

Weiss leaned in to Ruby. Their soft lips met briefly before Weiss moved to deepen their kiss. Ruby's tongue met hers and Weiss couldn't hold in her moan that slipped out as her heated body reacted to the taste of her girlfriend. Even Ruby's heart beat that Weiss could feel through their embrace seemed to speed up to a point where she simply thrummed with the energy of their passion.

Weiss broke out of the embrace before she lost complete control of her senses. Her breathing was coming in rapid gasps that had nothing to do with a lack of air and everything to do with the way Ruby watched her even while her chest heaved up and down with her heavy breathing.

"We should stop." Weiss breathed as she finally managed to control her gasping. Ruby nodded and stepped back but not too far away.

"I guess… do you want to take a look at some of the paintings then?" Ruby asked, looking for something to distract them. "I'll show you my favourites."

"Okay." Weiss nodded. They had only gone a single step when Weiss's stomach growled. "Maybe we can get something to eat first and come back?"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Ruby spun around and pulled Weiss over to the table that sat at the edge of the raised platform. "I made us supper and I thought we could eat here."

"That sounds nice." Weiss nodded and allowed Ruby to guide her to the chair on the left. She quickly sat opposite Weiss and pulled two covered plates out of a basket that was hidden on the other side of the table.

"My mom used to make this for me because it's my favourite food." Ruby said excitedly, she pulled the covers off and a cloud of steam rose out from the plates as they were unsealed. Ruby dropped the lids back into the basket and pulled out a candle that she placed to the side of the table and lit. "Now close your eyes for a minute."

"What's the surprise this time?" Weiss asked as she obliged. The light she saw through her eyelids vanished and a moment later she found herself shifting as the smell of the food started to reach her nose.

"Okay, open them." Ruby spoke quietly and Weiss once again followed the directions. The overhead lights were all off but dozens of spotlights illuminated every painting around them. The platform where they sat lay in complete darkness save the ambient light of the spotlights' reflections and the flame burning from the candle on the table.

Weiss looked down at her plate where she recognized something that bore a similar resemblance to a meal she'd expect from one of her chefs back at her parent's main estate.

Ruby was watching her reaction and smiling. It was tempting to just start eating, but regardless of everything that had happened, she was still a Schnee. And she'd been raised with good manners if nothing else.

"Thank you Ruby. Everything looks so wonderful." Weiss said, once again looking around at the room.

"I'm glad you like it." Ruby replied silkily. "Let's eat before it cools down too much."

Weiss smiled and took up her utensils. She was surprised that the dish actually tasted better than its presentation suggested. In fact if it was anyone except Ruby, she'd offer to hire them as a personal chef. But since it was Ruby, Weiss knew all she'd ever have to do was ask.

"I had a little help… is it good?" Ruby asked cautiously and Weiss realized that the younger girl hadn't actually taken a bite yet.

Weiss nodded since she was chewing, and smiled for a moment. Ruby got the message and started to eat as well.

Ten minutes passed in the relative silence of their meal. The steady spotlights unwavering on the paintings surrounding them as the flickering candle grew steadily shorter. In that time, not a single other noise could be heard from the rest of the house. It was as if the two were in a completely different world where only they existed amongst the beautiful canvas surroundings.

Weiss found herself taking in the beauty of the paintings in her field of vision as she ate, but soon found something much more enchanting, yet also more beautiful to study. But she kept her eyes shifting so as to avoid staring. By the time the two had finished, Weiss found that at some point she'd started to simply watch Ruby. The way her jaw worked on the food and the way her hair shifted when she made the tiniest of movements was hypnotizing.

"So did you like it?" Ruby asked, snapping Weiss out of whatever thoughts she'd been having. She quickly looked down at her plate to find it was empty.

"It was exquisite Ruby." Weiss complimented. The smile that reappeared on her girlfriend's face was more than enough reward.

"I'm glad…." Ruby sighed in relief. "I wasn't really sure about the sauce but he said it would be perfect."

"That reminds me you said you had help." Weiss prompted.

"Yeah. I came upstairs to make something but you were sleeping so I was about to ask Blake." Ruby said. "But then I heard Uncle Qrow got home early and he's the best cook in my family so I asked for his help and it turned into a surprise when you didn't wake up!"

"I haven't met him yet, have I?" Weiss said thoughtfully as she simply enjoyed the conversation between them that seemed to have returned to normal.

"No. But he'll be here tomorrow so… darn, I forgot." Ruby suddenly looked around as if frightened.

"What's wrong?" Weiss mirrored Ruby's looking around, but for what she didn't know.

"Whatever you do… take my lead around him. Otherwise he can be a bit… difficult." Ruby chose her words carefully as if she couldn't decide on which ones she wanted to use.

"If you'll remember, so am I." Weiss joked and Ruby's smile popped back.

"Well, if that's the case, I'll leave you to get to know him then." Ruby joked back. Even though Weiss knew it was a joke, she wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea.

"I'd hate to keep him away from you since it will be the last day of break. Why don't we all do something together?" Weiss suggested, trying hard not to sound uneasy.

"I think that's what he planned anyway." Ruby dropped the joke. "He said he wanted to test our team's combat effectiveness."

"What exactly does that mean?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

"Remember the front yard?" Ruby asked as her silver orbs met Weiss's. "That."

"I see." Weiss nodded. "Is there-"

"Nope!" Ruby chirped. "But that's tomorrow, right now I want to show you my favourites!"

Weiss laughed as Ruby pulled her from her seat and started pulling her around the room to her favourite paintings. It wasn't long before the romantic mood returned as each painting Weiss looked at was more beautiful than the last. Yet whenever she looked away from them as Ruby explained a reason she liked it or what it meant to her, Weiss took in the love that seemed to pour from the younger girl. There was no other way to describe the way she laughed or almost cried when she was explaining the paintings or what she remembered about her mother when she was working on them. Weiss payed careful attention to every word Ruby spoke, hoping in the back of her mind that maybe, one day, she'd be the one to draw such poetry from the girl before her.

"So this is the last one and then we can do whatever." Ruby said as she pulled Weiss up to the last painting. It was dark, but not in the sense of color. The white that covered most of the painting depicted a snow-covered world. But within that world the one who caught Weiss's attention was the single young beowolf in the center of a clearing between trees.

At it's feet fell the shadow of the setting sun that seemed to be coming from off the left side of the painting, but beneath the shadow, Weiss could feel more than see that the dark brush strokes hid something much more sinister.

But try as she might, Weiss couldn't look away. The forest behind the creature was silent and peaceful in the dying light. The snow on the ground appeared mostly untouched, and the bits hanging onto the branches of the trees glittered in the last rays of the sun. But always, as it was the center of the image, Weiss's eyes were drawn to the shadow of the black creature with the bright cherry eyes.

"What do you think?" Ruby asked as she stood silently at Weiss's side.

"It's honestly terrifying." Weiss couldn't find a better or more appropriate word for the intensity of the art that kept her rooted to the spot.

"It is." Ruby agreed as they continued to take in the intricacies of the art. "This is one of a small number of paintings I never saw until after mom died."

Weiss simply nodded. She could tell why her mother had kept it hidden. More than being simply terrifying, the very atmosphere around the canvas seemed tainted. Evil almost.

"I was only ever allowed to visit this gallery. Not that I knew there were other paintings, but I was never really curious to find out." Ruby spoke as if speaking of another's history. "The room on the top floor… the one across from the window… it has more of these."

"More? Like of the same painting?" Weiss asked curiously. Even the concept of more of these terrifying images existing within that very house sent a small chill down her spine.

"There is only one copy of each painting. But the more we've been learning at Beacon, the more I'm starting to be unsure of my own assumptions." Ruby replied. "This painting… has a feel the others here don't."

Weiss nodded her head. She knew exactly what Ruby meant, but didn't have the word for it. "It feels…"

"Evil… hateful… malevolent… but not quite…" Ruby tried to find the word as well and failed.

"It feels almost like the emerald forest." Weiss commented, the feeling oddly similar to the initiation just before she and Ruby found themselves surrounded.

"Yeah… almost." Ruby agreed quietly, deep in thought.

"Have you taken a close look at the eyes?" Weiss asked, noticing for the first time the depth of the painting. Specifically the cherry red orbs that seemed so lifelike even through the obvious strokes of a brush. She moved to lean closer and Ruby caught her shoulder before she could move.

"Don't." Ruby ordered seriously. "My Uncle gave me one warning when I told him about these paintings. He said to stay far away from them."

"Then why do you have one here?" Weiss asked, leaning away and tearing her eyes off the canvas to look at Ruby. Her face seemed troubled yet calm.

"I convinced him to bring it down for me under the condition that I let him seal the rest into the studio." Ruby explained.

"Seal…" Weiss mumbled as a possibility struck her. She shook it off after short consideration. It was far too unlikely a scenario. "So she made these in that room upstairs?"

"Yeah, all her stuff is still exactly where she left it up there. The only thing missing is one of her brushes. At least, that's according to dad." Ruby replied. "Anyway, do you want to look at more of them? Or do you maybe want to go upstairs and cuddle?"

Ruby nudged Weiss's arm suggestively and Weiss couldn't help the laugh that came with Ruby's randomness.

"Cuddling sounds like I'm your stuffed animal." Weiss laughed as she let Ruby lead her back to the door. She took one last glance at the painting. It's aura seemed to bleed into the surrounding darkness but vanished after only a couple inches. Barely noticeable if it were to exist outside of her head. She pushed the thought away and flicked Ruby on the nose as she tried to sneak a kiss.

"Hey!" Ruby complained as she recoiled from the surprise. "What was that for?"

"For leaving me alone all day." Weiss picked the first reason she could think of.

"Oh… were you lonely without me?" Ruby asked expectantly.

"You think I can't handle being on my own for a day?" Weiss asked in response.

"Hmmm…" Ruby honestly gave it some thought. "You were definitely lonely."

"I wasn't lonely." Weiss stated firmly. "I just… missed you is all."

"You're the best, Weiss!" Ruby giggled and this time Weiss allowed her to steal her kiss. "But were you surprised?"

"I can honestly say I was." Weiss replied. "Now it's my turn. Who do you prefer? Large police man, military official, or Jaune look alike?"

Ruby almost choked as she started laughing. Weiss opened the door of the room and led them out, allowing Ruby to lock it while she calmed down.

"What on Remnant are you talking about?" Ruby asked as her giggles died down enough for her to form words.

"I'm asking which movie we should watch next." Weiss stated as she pulled Ruby so she hooked her arm through the heiress's. Weiss led them toward the stairs as Ruby gave her question some thought.

"Well, I'm not quite sure… what movies are you talking about?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

"Come on, just pick one." Weiss said with a sigh. "Since when do you care as long as we end up cuddling?"

"Well…" Ruby's hesitation was met by a skeptical look from Weiss and Ruby's blush gave her away. "Fine. Jaune look alike. Is that satisfying to your majesty?"

"Careful about the royalty jokes." Weiss warned as they headed into the dark stairwell. "Otherwise this princess might just feel like having fun during the movie."

"W-what?" Ruby asked. As they were currently ascending, Weiss didn't answer. But once they reached the top of the stairs, she stopped Ruby and whispered into her ear.

"I-I-I… um…" Ruby stuttered as Weiss opened the door and led them into Ruby's room. "Uh…"

Ruby stood by the door while Weiss sat down on the bed. She watched Ruby's red face and smiled at her successful ploy.

"Go get the popcorn while I get changed again. I already have the movie downloaded so we'll watch it like we did yesterday, okay?" Weiss asked, hoping her voice was enough to make Ruby think she'd forgotten about her threat.

"Um… s-sure thing, Weiss!" Ruby disappeared out of the door, leaving a trail of petals in her wake.

Weiss smiled as she dressed herself in Ruby's pajamas again. _Ruby shouldn't worry so much. I wasn't being serious. At least… it was mostly a joke…._


	45. Chapter 45

"ALRIGHT ALL YOU SLACKERS!" A loud male voice shouted up the stairs. "GIT YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE TO EAT BREAKFAST!"

"Ughh…" Ruby groaned as she shook Weiss awake with her one arm that had feeling. "Weiss, wake up."

"Five more minutes…" Weiss replied sleepily as she nuzzled closer to Ruby.

"Not today." Ruby said groggily. "Qrow'll get mad."

"Fine…" Weiss released Ruby and sat up, yawning as she did so.

Ruby followed, rubbing her arm and rolling her shoulder. She got off the bed and started tossing clothes back toward the bed from Weiss's suitcase and her dresser.

Weiss caught her skirt before it slid to the floor and watched as Ruby turned with her eyes still closed and a stray strand of hair sticking to the corner of her mouth.

"Come on… we need to get dressed." Ruby said as she pulled the borrowed nightgown over her head in one quick movement. Weiss snapped her head to the side to avoid looking at Ruby as she put on her bra.

"Ruby! Wait until I get out of the room!" Weiss said while her face burned hot.

"No time." Ruby replied and before Weiss could register the feeling, Ruby had used her semblance to yank her bottoms off.

Weiss let out a yelp and quickly covered herself as Ruby ignored her and continued to dress. Weiss quickly snatched her pair of panties from the pile of clothing and pulled them up.

Weiss quickly finished dressing without any more unwanted help and Ruby was waiting for her patiently by the door by the time she turned back.

"I just need to fix my hair then I'll be ready." Weiss said as she made to grab her hair pin from the dresser.

"No time. Let me do it." Ruby said as she pulled an elastic from a drawer and quickly tied Weiss's hair into a ponytail. When she was done, she took a step back to inspect it. "Is that crooked enough?"

"I-it's fine. Thanks." Weiss mumbled while she dragged her fingers down the long strands to get them to lay at least a little flatter.

"Good, then we have to hurry." Ruby said before she pulled Weiss out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen at a speed no less than a jog.

"Took your precious time!" A man Weiss didn't recognize said. Weiss took notice of the third word that he just barely slurred.

Weiss took a quick look around to find the entire household was already standing around. Taiyang was leaning next to the stove with a cup of coffee in his hand, Yang and Blake were sitting on the island stools while they ate porridge of some sort, and who Weiss assumed was Qrow stood at the stove stirring a large pot that was steaming as if it was full of dry ice. Weiss took a tentative sniff at the air and was surprised that she couldn't smell anything at all.

"Here ya go. Eat up quick, I don't have all day!" Qrow said as he dropped two bowls onto the island for Weiss and Ruby. Ruby had already found two spoons and gave one to Weiss before she sat down to eat.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Taiyang replied with the hint of a laugh in his voice. "You're unemployed."

Qrow simply grunted in response as he continued to stir the pot. Weiss followed Ruby and took the last remaining seat at the end of the row. She looked down the row to find Yang already finished her bowl and Blake slowly picking away at hers. Her ears were exposed from one end of her bow and drooped forwards as another indication of her state of wakefulness.

Ruby was already shoveling large spoonfuls of the gruel into her mouth and Weiss looked down at hers. It didn't look appetizing, but if her teammates could eat it, she could too. Hesitantly, she filled her spoon and emptied it into her mouth.

She was shocked. It took her a moment to carefully chew what she wasn't certain she could already swallow and when she finally did, the one thing from the previous night she hadn't made sense of, she now perfectly, undeniably understood.

"This is amazing!" Weiss said, looking up at Qrow after she returned her spoon to the bowl. Qrow turned and looked at her out of the corner of his eye before he returned to the pot.

"Shh… don't talk, Schnee. Eat." He spoke into the pot as if he were afraid of waking a sleeping beast inside it.

Weiss didn't say anything further and kept eating, though now with a slight bit of apprehension at the tone Qrow had in his voice.

Once she had finished, her whole team looked much more alert and Qrow picked up the pot and held it to his chest. He took out the spoon and pointed to the back door before grunting. Ruby and Yang got up and Blake and Weiss followed as they walked outside.

Qrow followed them and Taiyang stood at the door as Qrow stopped in front of each girl and seemed to size them up.

"You're too stiff." He told Blake before walking on to Ruby and Yang. "I told you to work on your balance, and you to work on agility. I'll be testing that."

"I'm a lot better than I was before!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Bet you are, kiddo." Qrow patted Ruby on the head before he bumped his fist with Yang's. "And you, are a Schnee."

He turned as if to walk away, which left Weiss confused. As if to answer her unasked question, he turned back and pointed at her with his spoon.

"Fix that and you're golden!" He broke down into laughter as Ruby and Yang followed along nervously. Weiss finally noticed what she surprisingly hadn't before. As Qrow walked back to Taiyang, he swayed, just slightly but asymmetrically, from side to side as if he'd had too much to drink. Then she remembered his slurring and the odd way Ruby and Yang reacted to him and everything clicked into place.

"You're drunk!" She spoke more in surprise than anything else.

"He's always drunk." Ruby, Yang, and their father all spoke at once. Ruby at least seemed slightly embarrassed by the fact, but Yang and her father seemed to view it as just another fact of life.

"That's right." Qrow added as if he was proud of the fact. "I'm happier like this. You got a problem?"

Weiss saw Ruby and Yang both desperately telling her to say no, so she followed the advice. After all, it was difficult to predict what people would do when they were sober. Drunks turned that unpredictability up tenfold if not more.

"No, sir." Weiss added the extra term to try to smooth things over a little as it seemed both Ruby and Yang were almost afraid of him.

"Sir… eh?" Qrow seemed to think. Then he spat on the ground beside him. "Not a fan of that title."

"Sorry." Weiss mumbled, not quite knowing where the conversation was going anymore.

"Run." Qrow laughed like a maniac and Weiss felt herself get tugged to the side as Ruby grabbed onto her with her semblance.

"Let's go!" Ruby ordered and put Weiss down as they sprinted into the forest. To their left, Yang and Blake were running and below the crunching of their footsteps, Weiss could hear the crazy laughter from the house they'd just left.

"What are we doing?" Weiss asked, now completely confused.

"Qrow's going to test us on our endurance. Then on our close quarters combat skills, then on using random weapons and last on using our own weapons." Yang explained as the split team regrouped.

"How do you know? He's drunk!" Weiss asked in confusion.

"Because he's still sober enough to think." Yang replied. "But that means he's also going to be one hard… actually never mind, I'll let that be a surprise!"

"What? What is it Yang?" Ruby asked, her voice scared and huffing slightly.

"Nothing, let's just have fun with the workout!" Yang said as she sped up. "Race you slowpokes to the beach!"

"See you two later." Blake said as she jumped off the icy ground and started jumping back and forth between trees to speed up her pace.

"Come on, Weiss!" Ruby offered her hand and Weiss smiled to herself as she took it for a moment.

"Let's show them how fast we really are." Weiss said to Ruby as she pointed forward.

"I love how you think!" Ruby laughed as she scooped Weiss up in her arms and sprinted with her semblance towards the ever so slightly elevated glyph ten meters in front of them.

"Now!" Ruby ordered the split second before she landed on it. Weiss activated the glyph sending them only a foot off the ground as they flew past it, but they easily flew past Yang and Blake like bullets as they bounced off more glyphs Weiss summoned whenever they neared the ground.

Within seconds, Weiss saw the edge of the forest.

"Landing strategy!" Ruby yelled in panic as she dropped Weiss while she flailed her limbs.

Weiss caught Ruby's arm and pulled her close as she made a few soft glyphs to act as an impact cushion.

The bang that rang out from Weiss and Ruby punching through the glyphs sounded much more brutal than it felt and Weiss dropped Ruby once she planted both her feet back on the sand of the beach.

"Next time, try not to drop me." Weiss joked sarcastically while she pretended to dust off her sleeve.

"Fine. And next time tell me you have a way to stop us from going swimming!" Ruby replied as she calmed herself down.

Weiss looked down at Ruby with her eyebrows raised as if to say 'oh, really?'

Ruby looked back up at her with the look that answered 'yes, really.'

They burst into laughter as Ruby stood back on her feet. Ruby gave Weiss a quick kiss on her cheek before she crouched back down. In the sand she drew a quick note for her sister and she and Weiss started to leisurely jog down the beach.

"So where are we going?" Weiss asked, knowing Ruby'd most likely done this before.

"Around the island." Ruby replied. "Basically this is just to make us tired for the next part so we should try to conserve our strength and especially our aura as much as possible."

"If I remember, the island isn't too small is it?" Weiss tried to remember the exact measurements from her geography studies before Beacon, but she'd never concentrated on the dimensions of every land mass.

"It's about thirty miles around." Ruby replied. "We'll take a ten minute break around the twenty five mile mark."

"Where is that?" Weiss asked. She highly doubted Qrow would have set up a marker for them.

"It's around the swimming beach. We'll eat lunch there." Ruby replied. "Uncle Qrow always buys us lunch so we can start as soon as we get there."

"Somehow I'm still not sure I understand what we're actually doing today." Weiss replied. It seemed Qrow went from intimidating and drunk to friendly and drunk. Just what exactly was he trying to test them on?

"He's seeing if we're at where we're supposed to be as a team." Ruby replied. "He knows me and Yang work good together."

"Yang and I." Weiss corrected.

"Whatever, Yang and I." Ruby accepted the correction and continued. "He probably wants to make sure that you and Blake are good partners for us. And he might be interested to see how we work as a team too."

"So basically this is one long field test without any grimm or other teams to compete against." Weiss summarized.

"Pretty much." Ruby nodded. "Now let's pick up the pace, we should have been around that rock already."

Weiss followed as Ruby started running faster, the rock she had mentioned was literally the only boulder on the beach before it curved around a low cliff.

Weiss quickly found herself forgetting about their purpose as they ran. Ruby was beside her, matching her step for step as they moved over the sand. Due to the rigorous training they'd done at Beacon, it seemed almost trivial to be running without the threat of grimm or a failing grade hot on their heels. Ruby's face seemed to glow in the morning sun as they ran, Weiss watched as sweat slowly collected on her forehead before she'd wipe it away with her sleeve. Weiss couldn't resist watching Ruby with the icy gray ocean undulating just feet from their path. It was romantic, but in the poetic sense of the word. Weiss could see the fire of Ruby's spirit push her on even when they left the generally smooth sand to run over the rocky ground that lead up into yet another part of the island's forest, yet the icy scenery seemed to be trying its hardest to push that fire down.

Weiss caught Ruby as she almost slipped on a patch of ice and twice more when she almost tripped on roots that had risen out of the ground. Weiss found herself being saved an equal amount of times as they half stumbled, half sprinted through the forest.

Eventually, Weiss found what she'd expected to find since she'd started running around the perimeter of the island.

"Ruby, just keep going straight." Weiss instructed as they neared a large inlet that stretched at least a quarter kilometer into the island and stretched only thirty meters down its entire length.

"But shouldn't you conserve your aura?" Ruby asked with concern.

"I only get tired when I use lots of glyphs in a short time." Weiss replied. "This shouldn't be too difficult and I'll be back to full power by the time we finish lunch."

"Are you sure? I mean, won't you have to make them too big?" Ruby asked, still unsure about accepting Weiss's proposal.

"Ruby, just get in front of me!" Weiss gave Ruby a gentle smack on her back to get her to hurry as they were running out of space fast.

"Whatever you do, just keep running at exactly the same speed." Weiss instructed as she started timing her glyphs.

What she'd told Ruby wasn't necessarily true. She was affected by a large use of glyphs, but that depended on how long she kept them in existence, how solid she made them, and how large they were. She estimated the most efficient way to get across this gap without using her air-step was to time small, solid platforms for her and Ruby to step on so they could cross in what she estimated would be about ten platforms if they continued as they were and Weiss gave them just a slight boost to their height.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked in a panic as she took her last step.

"Keep going!" Weiss ordered as she followed Ruby. She summoned the first glyph for a quarter of a second and they bounced off it in perfect sync.

"Whoa!" Ruby seemed surprised. "Keep doing whatever that was!"

"Right." Weiss mumbled as she pulled up glyph after glyph. She quickly readjusted so they stayed in place for a half second as Ruby had unknowingly sped up just a fraction that put her timing out of balance for herself. "On the last one, step and brace your leg."

"W-okay." Ruby quickly changed her reply as she realized the reason Weiss had given her the instruction.

"Now!" Weiss ordered as she pulled up the last glyph which caught her and Ruby's feet for a tenth of a second before kicking them back into the air with enough height to clear the far bank.

Ruby landed first, rolling to dissipate the momentum from the boost and Weiss summoned a single cushioning glyph to fall through so she could land in a jog beside Ruby again.

"That was awesome!" Ruby cheered, offering her hand to Weiss who gave her a high five and held her hand for a second before releasing it again.

"That probably cut a few minutes off our detour, so we should be able to rest more when we get lunch." Weiss said, noticing that the wind was starting to carry the smells of food over to them.

"We just have to go around that corner and we're there." Ruby pointed to a clump of bushes that acted as a wind barrier. Currently, they were about half covered in a snow hill that looked solid enough to run over.

Instead, Ruby led her into the trees and Weiss suddenly found herself on a snow covered boardwalk that had been shoveled in sections farther down.

Near the shoveled sections were the food stands that were currently selling anything and everything hot.

"I love the hot chocolate here." Ruby commented as they continued to jog. The smoke from the shacks was being blown away from the shore, leaving large white plumes in the air. Weiss wanted to stop and take a picture but didn't want to fall behind Ruby.

"If you say it's good I'll have to give it a try." Weiss replied as they came up to the first shack. She looked into the hut to see the attendee working on a batch of fresh donuts in front of a smoking oil vat.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow is still here!" Ruby exclaimed as she sped up slightly. Weiss couldn't keep up as Ruby was using her semblance. The small rose petals fell in a gentle shower over her as she tried to move faster. She felt the silky material brush against her exposed skin on her face as she ran through them.

She was about to come to where the cloud of red ended and ducked as some sixth sense told her to. She came sliding to a stop just beside Ruby who looked like she was in the middle of a shocked outburst.

"What's up?" Weiss asked as she straightened herself. She turned to look back where Ruby was staring to find Qrow looking at them with a somewhat unhinged smile on his face.

"Not bad reflexes… for a Schnee." He said as he walked past them and back into an enclosed eating area. "Food's this way. I'll be back at the house."

Weiss entered with Ruby as Qrow exited the opposite side and disappeared into the bush that lined the boardwalk.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked Ruby again as Ruby let out a breath she'd been holding.

"He tried to test your reflexes and made my semblance's flower petals get in your vision." Ruby said while she relaxed. "Then he tried to punch you when you got close enough and I still can't believe you dodged that."

"To be honest, I don't know how I knew to duck." Weiss stated as they took a pair of seats to start on the plates of steaming food that had been left there. "I was lucky, I guess."

"Maybe, anyway, let's eat." Ruby quickly shoved a fork full of noodles into her mouth. She sighed as she chewed and swallowed. "This is the first time they were still hot when I got here."

"Really? I would have thought you'd move faster with your semblance." Weiss commented. "I mean, you don't exactly get tired quickly."

"Sort of…" Ruby shrugged as she ate. "I'm not great at running on sand or through the forest with it though."

"I guess that would make sense…" Weiss hadn't thought about it before, but she really knew next to nothing about Ruby's semblance except the few bits she'd been told over their partnership. "We've never really talked about semblances? As a team, I mean."

"Huh…" Ruby stopped eating and looked up at the low wooden ceiling in thought. "Not really, I guess…. I mean, I know Yang's and she knows mine, but we haven't really told each other everything about them."

Ruby thought some more while Weiss started eating. Even though they were inside, it was still cold as the area wasn't heated. Her food was already starting to cool and she realized why Ruby was so excited to get to eat it while it was hot.

"We should definitely have a team meeting about that." Ruby mumbled before she returned to her noodles and scooped the last of them up. "I never really thought about it but our semblances are basically a unique set of weapons that only we have at our disposal. Understanding how they work would probably benefit all of us."

"Then why don't we do it now?" Weiss asked as she saw Yang and Blake spot them through a window.

"How are you guys already done?" Yang asked as she collapsed beside Ruby. She immediately started shoveling the almost chilled food into her mouth.

Blake took her seat beside Weiss and also began eating, though she did so in a much more dignified fashion.

"Weiss got us over the inlet so we didn't have to go around." Ruby said as she stacked her plate with Weiss's and waited for her other teammates.

"Thash no fair!" Yang spoke through her mouthful of food, sending small bits back to the table. Weiss was thankful that the table was rather large as the bits only made it part way across.

"We didn't break any rules." Weiss asserted and Yang couldn't help but wink in response.

"Anyways, Ruby and I were just having a discussion about our semblances." Weiss changed the subject.

"And?" Yang asked after she swallowed her massive mouthful with an audible gulp.

"We haven't really told each other about them." Ruby replied. "I was thinking we should tell each other at least a general overview about them so we can plan strategies."

"It would make our practices more efficient." Blake agreed.

"Right?" Ruby recognized the approval with a nod. "I guess I'll go first then."

"But keep it short, we have Qrow waiting on us, you know." Yang warned.

"What about if we say what exactly our semblance is, along with what drains our energy or what affects how fast it drains?" Weiss suggested. "We can get more detailed later on."

"Sound's good to me." Blake nodded.

"Music." Yang replied with a grin while she cracked her neck. Then she returned to the last mouthful of noodles on her plate.

"Okay, so my semblance isn't exactly speed." Ruby started. "It's more like a negative vacuum or magnetism."

"I'm surprised you know those words." Blake commented, noting the advanced vocabulary Ruby had used.

"Well, I did a bit of research when I first got to Beacon because I wanted to find out myself." Ruby said. "Anyways, it's sort of like I move faster by creating a sort of field in front of me or whatever I'm holding. Then when I move the field, it makes a sort of pull that lets me move faster, but it sort of also distorts other things like my sight and I guess my brain because when I use it I can also see everything in slow motion and make adjustments to my movement faster. But it sort of balances because of the blur of everything moving so fast which doesn't go away. And depending on how fast I'm going, it can get really bad."

"I guess that makes sense with the tripping from our last Qrow day." Yang commented. "It was the first time you tried to use your semblance in combat too."

"Yeah, and I seem to only get tired when I have to keep changing direction." Ruby finished. "I can go in a straight line for a long time but that's why I don't really use it in combat unless I'm giving myself a boost in one direction."

"But you can use it if you really had to, and if you had enough energy?" Weiss asked.

"I could, but I'm not really practicing that so I'd probably get tired really fast." Ruby said. "I was thinking of starting to work on it a little when we get back."

"Sound's like a good idea to me." Blake commented.

"I'll go next because mine is fast." Yang stated as she dropped her plate on top of the finished pile. "Mine is something like reaction, I guess."

"Like how if you throw a ball at a wall it'll bounce." Ruby added to clarify a little.

"Yup!" Yang rubbed Ruby's head until she was pushed off. "So mine sort of is like a dial that can go up and down. When it's low I have to create my own reactions, but my attacks can always be amplified with my semblance at the cost of my aura. When my aura goes low, my semblance becomes more efficient which allows me to affect my immediate surroundings like making a pressurized zone where there's no pressure or like in the snowball fight I could have set the yard on fire if Blake didn't step in."

"You wouldn't have set the yard on fire. Remember how mad dad was when you did that in the front yard?" Ruby asked. "And you weren't that mad. Your aura was only half way, too."

"Fine, but you get my point." Yang waved dismissively. "It's also quite useful in these situations since I can use my semblance to keep myself warm. But like I said, it's not very efficient unless my aura is low, so I try not to rely on it."

"Alright, mine is fairly simple as well." Weiss spoke up. "My glyphs are exactly what they appear to be, platforms. I can use them to affect the momentum of anything that comes into contact with them and I can augment them with dust for various additional effects. I can control several factors when I use them such as how solid they are, how large they are, and how long they stay in place. Also when I can make them against a surface, it cuts down on their drain on my energy by about half."

"So how exactly do they work?" Yang asked while her brow furrowed in concentration. "By the sounds of it you can basically keep going till you drop."

"Essentially, that is true." Weiss nodded. "But they don't just drain on my aura. They affect it differently. When I lose concentration, each glyph consumes more of my energy. That's why I only tend to use them when I really need to."

"But what about that beowolf that broke your glyph?" Ruby asked. Weiss saw the dark shadow flit past her eyes as she spoke and understood that even still that memory haunted her.

"My glyphs aren't unbreakable. If they're hit at the right angle or with enough force they'll shatter like glass. The problem with that is during the fight you mentioned, I was already getting tired, so I couldn't make them as solid as I'd hoped, and I couldn't put enough energy into them to counteract the force of the wolf's attacks." Weiss replied. "The larger and stronger I need to make a glyph, the more time I need to create it and the more energy it takes to maintain it. Basically think of it like a battery. The more complicated it is, the more juice it takes and when the battery starts to run low it limits how much energy you can take at any one time."

"That's about how my semblance works as well." Blake spoke up as she placed her plate atop the pile. "The drainage is about the same as Weiss, with the exception that my shadow clones always come out the same size and shape. The difference is what their purpose is."

"So you basically have glyphs that come out as bodies?" Yang asked, intrigued.

"No, I think it's more like body shaped glyphs?" Ruby suggested.

"Sort of. I can make them solid for platforms, distorting for visual decoys or I can add several other factors that make them more lifelike. That's before you add dust to augment them."

"That's so cool!" Ruby jumped up as she spun around when she noticed the clock. "We better go home quick otherwise Uncle Qrow's going to be mad."

"Right, let's go!" Yang jumped up and headed for the door.

The entire team hurried out and continued the final leg of their jog together as they approached the house. Not one of them spoke as they processed the newly shared information, realizing that their combat strategies would definitely improve now that they had a general understanding of each other's semblances.

"You're late!" Qrow slurred from the door as he walked outside. "I ended up getting your weapons for ya."

"You went through our stuff?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"I used to have an older sister who liked dressing me up." Qrow replied seriously. "It ain't nothing I ain't seen before."

Weiss glanced at the others before holding her tongue. It seemed they didn't want to press the issue so she let it drop.

"So how this works is you pick a weapon from that bench." He pointed to a table that had been set up on his right. "Then you each get a turn to attack me with it. I want to see how well you can adapt to use a weapon you might scavenge."

"Dibs on the mace!" Yang shouted as she raced over to the spiked ball that hung off a short chain that came out of a shorter handle.

"I'll take the spear." Blake said as she joined Yang.

"Which one do you want?" Ruby asked Weiss as they took Yang and Blake's place at the table.

"What are they?" Weiss asked as she looked at the remaining weapons.

"That one is a basic chain scythe sort of like Blake's but not as well made and its blade could also work as a sword." Ruby said quickly as if she was trying to sell it. "The other one here is actually just a staff with large knives at either end. If it breaks you could probably use them like a pair of short swords."

"Which one do you want?" Weiss asked. It would be pointless to argue over the weapons. Ruby was the weapon aficionado out of them and this sort of thing was right up her alley.

"I sort of want to try the staff." Ruby said with a shrug before she lifted the weapon. "I've already learned to use scythes pretty well."

"Now that you've decided, let's get to it. Yang first." Qrow announced as he stood in the middle of the back yard.

Yang approached him and Weiss joined Ruby and Blake at the fence as they watched.

Twelve seconds later, Yang was disarmed and sitting on the ground. The mace sat past Qrow at the edge of the yard.

"Still horrible." Qrow commented as Yang dusted herself off and tagged Blake in. "The objective is to land any single, solid hit. I win if I disarm you or corner you."

"Fair enough." Blake crouched slightly as she approached.

Weiss watched Qrow take his unarmed stance. He was crouched just slightly enough to be mobile, but he was loose. It made his stance unpredictable. He could just as easily attack low as he could high, and he could easily use any of his limbs.

It was a stance she'd seen her sister use before during the final round of a tournament. It was the stance of someone who was confident, but not because they knew they were going to win. It was the confidence that they could deal with anything thrown at them.

Weiss payed careful attention as Blake moved slowly and the two started circling each other. Weiss already knew Blake's reflexes were extremely fast, but her training was with patience, which made her a tough opponent.

Ruby leaned up against her as she studied the stalemate. Minutes slowly dragged on until Blake seemingly rushed forward.

Qrow reacted immediately, landing an opened hand on her arm which immediately burst into smoke and a second Blake attempted a kick that Qrow caught with his arm, making the clone explode into more smoke.

Suddenly Qrow knelt down and froze after a short crack was heard. He tossed the two pieces of the broken spear aside and looked back down.

"You done?" He asked as the smoke from the destroyed clones dissipated.

"Yes." Blake's clipped tone showed how irritated she was at being bested so easily.

"I said you were too stiff. Work on developing a flow in a prolonged battle. Hesitating at the onset is what allows your opponent to size you up. Don't give them time to pay attention." Qrow said as he offered his hand. Blake took it and she was picked up and shooed away to stand with Yang.

"Next is Ruby." Qrow ordered.

Ruby stepped forward and twirled the knife ended staff above her head before swinging it down with a whoosh where she stopped it pointing at her Uncle.

"Ready for me?" Ruby asked as she also crouched slightly. She started twirling the staff again in no specific pattern before she exploded in rose petals.

"Nice try." Qrow grinned as he side stepped her first swipe and easily ducked under the second in one quick movement. "But not nice enough."

Weiss watched as he lashed out with an open palm strike and Ruby barely managed to dodge before stabbing the weapon out. Qrow grabbed onto the staff as he dodged the blade and ripped it out of Ruby's grasp, throwing it over the neighbor's fence before throwing a punch.

Ruby quickly ducked and rolled out of the way as a low kick swept just to her side. Ruby launched her counter attack before she'd even stood up, getting blocked by Qrow's arms as she attempted to fit a kick or punch through his defenses.

Ruby jumped to the side to dodge another punch from her uncle and that's when Weiss thought she saw the underlying fighting style he used, but she couldn't be sure. She decided she'd attempt to test her theory when it was her turn.

Ruby rolled again, dodging another palm strike but found herself caught on her uncle's leg. She sunk to the ground, gasping and waving her surrender.

"You've gotten a lot better, but you still have a ways to go." Her uncle said as he helped her up. He walked her over to Yang and Blake and made sure she was okay before returning to the center of the yard.

"Odd choice for a weapon, Schnee." Qrow said. Weiss could feel the dislike in his voice barely masked by something else. Whether that something was alcohol, she couldn't tell. "Let's get this over with."

"My pleasure." Weiss walked forward, her chain scythe weighing heavily in her hand. "I've never used a scythe before, any tips?"

"Sure, don't gut yourself." Qrow replied before he moved to close the gap. Weiss summoned a glyph and launched herself skyward, throwing the weapon with her meager might back at the ground. Qrow easily dodged the blade as it bit deeply into the relatively soft ground.

Weiss pulled the rope and rocketed back down where Qrow once again dodged her kick. She rolled and pulled the blade from the dirt, spinning and swiping to find her attack strike a fist traveling in the opposite direction. She recoiled from the hit and Qrow backed off slightly. Weiss used the recoil to throw the blade out in an arc, using the rope to spin it and bring it close to her target. Qrow actually jumped to dodge her first attack then rolled out of the way of her second attack.

Unfortunately Weiss wasn't used to the weight, and the force of the second attack set her off balance. Without waiting for Qrow to capitalize on her mistake, she once again sent herself skyward. She felt the rope roughly get yanked from her hand and knew Qrow had taken it. She landed gracefully at the other side of the yard, dropping into her best close quarters combat stance.

"Not bad for a beginner. Maybe I should teach you how to use scythes as well." Qrow commented, somewhat surprised at the observation.

"Sorry, I'm a fencer." Weiss replied as she approached Qrow.

"We'll see about that." Qrow grinned.

Weiss moved forward and carefully watched Qrow. She knew he was a capable hunter, fully trained and experienced in real combat situations, but what she really wanted to know was his current fighting style. If it was the same he'd had with Ruby, she wanted to test something.

He swiped an open handed strike over her head and Weiss caught herself before she ducked as his leg kicked out, barely missing her. Weiss countered with a couple punches that were knocked aside and braced herself as she launched herself just off the ground.

Not failing to disappoint, Qrow landed his punch on a protective glyph she'd made just below her layer of clothing on her upper stomach. It didn't break, but she felt it come close as she was thrown backwards. She quickly pulled up a glyph at her back that caught her and sent her flying back. She extended one leg in a feint and Qrow moved to the side as Weiss lashed out with her other leg.

Almost impossibly fast, Qrow blocked the rather weak kick and Weiss landed. She turned and continued the combat she'd learned with Yang. Similarities in the two's fighting styles were oddly inconsistent as if Yang had partially developed her own style. Weiss found herself on the retreat and finally there was an opportunity to test her theory.

She kicked out with one leg while she used a glyph to increase the force of the kick. Qrow moved to block it and Weiss, having no need to control her leg, used every ounce of force left to punch at Qrow's chest.

She watched his eyes as they circled around. Not clockwise as she'd expected, considering her position, but counter clockwise.

The attack was blocked and a split second later, she had her arm twisted behind her back.

"You win." Weiss said as the pressure increased slightly. Qrow released her and pointed at the other table that was set up, the weapons much more familiar than the ones they'd just used.

"Same order, Yang's up first." Qrow said as he patiently waited for everyone to pick up their own weapons.

"You did great, Weiss!" Ruby squealed. "You lasted even longer than me!"

"I lost though." Weiss replied as her brain raced, thinking of how she'd implement her strategy. She wasn't sure she could do it if she couldn't sustain her glyph use.

"Everyone loses against him." Ruby laughed. "But next we get to really fight, Qrow even uses his scythe!"

"Really?" Weiss added the information to her plan. Suddenly, it seemed much more feasible, though it depended on the type of scythe.

"Yeah, see?" Ruby pointed as Yang cocked her gauntlets into combat mode.

Qrow drew what appeared to be a medium sized sword from his back. The blade was thick between the two edges but rather thin between the hilt and the tip.

"I'll let you choose what weapon you fight against." Qrow said as he twirled the weapon in his hand as if it were light as a feather.

"I did the sword last time. So let's switch things up a bit!" Yang grinned.

"Sound's like fun." Qrow laughed.

Weiss watched as his sword separated into pieces. They were all connected by a center support, but swayed back and forth depending on where gravity pulled them. It was actually a better weapon than she'd been hoping for.

Weiss stopped paying too much attention to Yang and ignored Blake's fight as well. She carefully watched Ruby's fight which is when she realized she was fully prepared for her fight. Ruby and Qrow seemed to dance scythe to scythe as their forms twirled and twisted to land hits that seemed barely possible.

Weiss watched the synchrony of the two, realizing that their moves seemed almost scripted. But after a while longer, Weiss realized Ruby was the one who seemed to be mirroring Qrow as she'd use one of his moves against him whenever she had an opening. It was like she was adding to her fighting style while they were moving.

Unfortunately, Qrow stopped his scythe an inch from Ruby's neck not long after Weiss had made the observation. Now it was her turn.

"Alright, I'm guessing you'd prefer the sword." Qrow stated as he switched his weapon back into the solid blade. Weiss didn't reply, only leveling her rapier at her opponent as she took measured steps into the battleground. Qrow watched her as he shook his head. "You're not going to last long if you stand that tall."

"Oh, I think you'd be wrong." Weiss replied quietly. She'd studied his combat movements, his hand to hand skills, and the way he reacted to each of her teammate's weapons. Speaking theoretically, she had the best chance to land a hit out of her whole team.

Qrow lunged forwards with his sword to start the fight. Weiss summoned a glyph to block the hit while she spun the dust cartridge on her hilt. She spun it quickly and didn't look at where it stopped. If she did, she'd lose the edge of unpredictability she knew she had. The only drawback was that she didn't know what type of attack she'd be using.

Her strike was blocked by Qrow's sword and the resounding pressure wave told her she'd used speed dust for the strike. She knew from previous experience that she could attack five more times with the cartridge before it was empty.

Qrow countered her strike and Weiss pulled the trigger as she deflected his blade skyward. It fell heavily into the ground at his side as the ice that encased it made it suddenly twice its weight.

She clicked to the next cartridge which she knew was fire dust and let a fireball fly from the tip of her rapier at Qrow. He recovered from the frozen blade in time and caught the fireball with his iced sword, cracking the ice off the hardened metal.

Weiss attacked again without dust as she saw Qrow's eyes cut across his vision, breaking his usual pattern. Weiss quickly summoned a glyph to halt her momentum as Qrow's sword passed an inch in front of her. The split second it cleared, she dropped her glyph and rocketed forward. Qrow knocked her blade to the side with his open hand and attempted a punch which Weiss ducked under as she twirled her grip on the hilt of her weapon so the blade was pointed to her back.

Weiss clicked the cartridge to the next vial and fired the dust as she spun for a backwards strike. The bolts of electricity that sparked to life as her weapon bit into the flat of Qrow's blade danced around her crouched form as she shifted her rotation to slide her weapon off his.

Weiss summoned a glyph below her and knelt as Qrow swung, cutting a thread of her hair. Weiss activated it sending both her and Qrow skyward.

Even as they fell through the air, they didn't stop their duel. Finally, Weiss caught Qrow's weapon on hers and used it to push them away from each other as they approached the ground.

"Had enough, Schnee?" Qrow laughed.

"Go, Weiss!" Ruby cheered from the sidelines behind her uncle. "You're doing great!"

"Since when did you leave my fan club?" Qrow asked, turning his back on Weiss. She took it as a chance to catch her breath from the ferocious duel.

"I didn't… well, sort of…" Ruby blushed and kicked at the ground.

"Did I miss something?" Qrow asked, looking around at the three sitting out then back at Weiss who smiled.

"I'm dating her." Weiss answered the question with a grin.

"Did you tell Taiyang?" Qrow asked, cocking his head in surprise. "He didn't tell me about this."

"He knows." Yang chipped in. "It's all good."

"Right, then I guess it's my job to see if you really do have the potential to take care of my niece." Qrow grinned, flicking his wrist and allowing his sword to shift into its scythe form.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby jumped to her feet in surprise. "Please don't hurt her!"

"Oh, I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to see how she responds when her enemy adapts." Qrow lunged forwards.

Weiss had expected the attack and blocked the scythe as it flew past her head, launching it into the air. Weiss watched as he twirled it around in the same fashion Ruby did, but with skill that spoke of his experience. Weiss went on the defensive as her strategy started to fall into place. What she was relying on was the move he'd pulled earlier with Ruby. She'd seen the way to get past it without having to deal with his weapon, but she knew he could counter it by changing his weapon back into the sword form. The major problem with that was that he lost the momentum of his scythe's swing when he chose to do that, so if she didn't land her hit she'd have plenty of opportunity when he went on the defensive.

Qrow slashed quickly, only to be met with a block that set the bare minimum clearance between himself and Weiss. She summoned glyphs to block his melee followups, and seemed to be waiting. Qrow saw the opening in her defenses, but was hesitant to exploit them. He'd had enough experience to tell him it could very well be a trap.

"What's wrong, Schnee? Can't attack?" He asked as she continued to block each and every attack.

"Maybe I'm waiting till you tire yourself out." She replied with a scowl. That scowl he'd seen before, almost too many times to count.

"I don't have that kind of time." Qrow growled in response. He shrugged off his suspicions of being baited. He was fighting a Schnee. They did things brutally, but always head on. Everything was about form and appearance. That's why her stance is so upright, her left foot forward, but not too forward. Her blade held with her dominant hand at her center of mass and angled upwards. She could take out grimm, but her stance was downright horrible for combat against quickly learning opponents. Human opponents. "I'm finishing this now."

"Bring it on." Weiss replied with a ghost of a grin flashing across her face.

That too, he'd seen before. It was the grin of overconfidence he'd seen after it was already far too late. But that didn't bother him. No, it was the fact that she seemed to believe she had an advantage against him that shook him slightly. Not once had any of them landed so much as a touch on him. How she found this situation different was what he wanted to know. He recognized the dust in the firing chamber was blue, which seemed odd. Schnee's never overlooked details like that which meant she was going to use it. The question was when and for what purpose.

Weiss lunged forward and Qrow moved into the attack he was sure would end the match. That look of confidence he'd seen, set itself on her face as she moved through the air.

Qrow swung his weapon and… missed. Weiss moved quickly into his margin of safety and Qrow finally understood what she'd seen and smiled to himself. She was better than he'd given her credit for.

He switched his weapon into it's sword form and spun, landing the sword across his back to block the attack Weiss had targeted him with.

Her weapon glanced off his blade which suddenly pulled him backwards and off balance. She'd used the ice dust.

He looked to where he expected to find her as he quickly recovered but his stumble had cost him. Weiss bounced past him at immense speed, her blade barely missing as he leaned backwards to avoid it.

But that wasn't the end of her onslaught. She bounced back and forth between her glyphs, forcing him to spin in a circle as he fought with his heavy blade to get it to break the ice and transform back into the scythe.

Just as the ice broke, he swung the blade out as it transformed. A blast of heat forced his blade up into the air as Weiss crouched beneath him on a glyph that was glowing black.

That grin on her face seemed to widen in the millisecond she waited for his weapon to clear his body and then the glyph turned bright red.

Weiss rocketed forward, there was no way for Qrow to evade and he threw a last ditch punch that was knocked aside by the flexible metal of the blade as Weiss landed her hilt into his solar plexus.

Weiss landed and stepped away as Qrow coughed from the impact that had forcibly removed the air from his lungs.

All was silent in the yard as Weiss lowered her weapon, breathing heavily, her shoulders slouched forward at the massive amount of energy she'd needed to consume for the fight.

"Amazing…" Yang breathed. Weiss looked up to find her mouth hanging open in surprise. Blake stood beside her, her eyes just the slightest bit wider and a grin on her face. But Ruby seemed the most interesting of the three.

Her face was literally frozen in a large O. Then as she watched, her eyes started dancing with delight and then the squealing started as her face unfroze itself and she started jumping in excitement.

"Oh my god, Weiss! You did it!" Ruby cheered, her semblance carrying her over to Weiss who landed on the ground when Ruby tackled her, knocking her breath out of her lungs. "I can't believe it but you did it!"

"Congratulations." Qrow said as he stood and stowed his weapon. "You've got some promise."

"Thank you." Weiss was still somewhat shocked at what she'd just accomplished.

"Tell me, when did you figure that move out?" Qrow asked out of curiosity.

"The last part I've done before. I tend to avoid it though since I use up a lot of aura on the glyphs." Weiss said as Ruby helped her back to her feet. "The first part I figured out when I saw you beat Ruby and then I figured out the rest as we fought."

"Clever girl." Qrow approached her. He offered his hand she took it in a quick shake. "Well done, in case you haven't figured it out already, these two clowns haven't been able to touch me yet."

"Hey!" Yang protested as she joined the group with Blake.

"Anyways, you should work on loosening your form. It's far too predictable the way it is." Qrow stated. "Fighting grimm is one thing, but when you go up against another human, your stance says a lot about how you're going to attack. If you keep changing it, it'll get harder to predict. And that'll give you the edge."

"Okay." Weiss nodded to the advice and Qrow walked away, hopping over the neighbor's fence to retrieve the weapons he'd discarded. He took them and walked around the house, disappearing.

"You're lucky, you know that?" Yang asked, patting Weiss on the back. "I didn't know how he'd react when he found out you were dating Ruby."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, Weiss nodded at the question, finding herself somewhat confused by Yang's statement.

"Well, he's sort of got a grudge against your dad, and your whole family really." Yang stated as if it wasn't obvious. "I was sort of thinking he'd use his semblance in your fight. Then when Ruby cheered for you instead of him I thought he'd try harder."

"I could barely get through his defense as it was." Weiss stated, looking at her teammates. "We've got a long way to go before we're that good, don't we."

"Yup." Yang nodded.

"Definitely." Blake agreed.

"Welp, we are only first years, after all. And he's like already retired." Ruby said to justify the gap in ability.

"I heard that!" Qrow yelled from somewhere in front of the house. "And I wish I was old enough to retire!"

Weiss couldn't help a laugh at the shout and wrapped her arm around Ruby.

"Alright team! Let's get better so next time we can all beat Qrow!" Ruby cheered placing her hand between them all.

"Right on, we'll get him next time!" Yang agreed and put her hand on top of Ruby's.

"We'll definitely do better next time." Blake agreed. She put her hand on top of Yangs.

Weiss looked at Yang pointedly as she placed her hand in. "If you decide to start taking school seriously, the goal does seem achievable."

"What's the fun in that?" Yang asked.

"Go team RWBY!" They all shouted as they broke their hands apart and headed back into the house.

The sun was already setting and the chill of the air was starting to pierce through their clothes that were somewhat damp with the sweat of the day. All in all, Weiss decided she could get used to Ruby's family. It was definitely a nice alternative to her own.


	46. Chapter 46

"Ruby, do you have everything you need yet?" Weiss asked as she waited impatiently by the door of the girl's room.

"For the millionth time, just wait a minute!" Ruby shouted back in frustration as she threw her clothing back and forth between several piles that occupied her floor, two open drawers and most of her bed that wasn't taken up by the luggage she'd use to cart what she wanted back to Beacon.

"I swear, if you make us late for the airship-" Weiss started, glancing at her scroll and crunching numbers in her head.

"Then we'll get the one tonight and be there tomorrow!" Ruby said in exasperation.

"What's all the commotion?" Yang poked her head in behind Weiss.

"LEAVE!" Weiss ordered and Yang backed up with her hands raised in a show of surrender.

"Okay, I was just wondering how long you were going to be." Yang said innocently.

"Augh! Everyone leave me alone!" Ruby yelled in exasperation. "Go downstairs and I'll be down when I'm done!"

Ruby pushed Weiss into Yang and slammed her door shut, making the house rattle at the force the door hit home in the frame.

"Man, you really pushed her buttons." Yang laughed, placing a hand on Weiss's shoulder and guiding her away to the living room where Taiyang was waiting with Blake and Qrow.

"I can't believe I didn't see this coming." Weiss grumbled as she followed Yang.

"I actually can't believe it either." Yang admitted. "I mean, it seems like you two get along all the time, so to see you having a fight like that… it's sort of weird. Not to mention that huge organization binder you have."

"Who's having a fight?" Taiyang asked as they came around the corner into the living room. He and Qrow were sitting on the couch and Yang took the remaining seat. Blake was sitting on her suitcase, leaving the chair for Weiss.

"Nobody." Weiss replied grumpily. "Ruby and I are having a disagreement. That's all. And that's not even the largest size they sell, Yang."

"What's the fight about?" Qrow asked sloppily. He seemed like he'd been hitting the bottle pretty hard already even though it was barely eleven in the morning and he'd been there for only the past hour. "Having girl troubles? Ha ha."

"No, we simply are disagreed on what should have been taken care of yesterday and as a result, what time it would be appropriate to return in order to allow some time to review our notes before classes tomorrow." Weiss explained as she let out her breath and hung her head.

"And you didn't expect this?" Taiyang asked, somewhat surprised.

"Save the lecture. I already heard it from Yang." Weiss grumbled and sank further into the chair. "And in hindsight, I should have seen this coming and prevented it."

"Well, looks like the family tradition of being late is about to come to an end." Qrow said wistfully. "You know, my sister was late to her own wedding."

"Qrow, you don't have to tell her-" Taiyang started.

"No, she should know… Ruby's mom was one hell of a huntress." Qrow laughed at the memory that he was enjoying. "She showed up to the wedding, white dress all shining, but under the veil she was splattered with mud and even had some grass stuck in it."

Weiss sat up a little at the drunk retelling of Ruby's parents' wedding. It was the first time anyone in the family other than Ruby had spoken so openly about the talented artist that had been Ruby's mother.

"So she's got the paint on her hands slowly soaking through her gloves and the mud hiding behind the veil, and the look on Dar's face when he picked up the veil to give her a kiss was priceless!" Qrow cackled joyfully. "Then there's some commotion coming from outside and he seals the deal with barely a peck cause they both grab their weapons and head outside."

"Qrow, stop. You only destroy yourself whenever you start thinking of her again." Taiyang pleaded. "Please, stop…"

Weiss silently watched as Qrow ignored Taiyang's plead. Taiyang looked as if the blood had drained from his face but he couldn't move from his spot on the couch next to his drunk relative. That's when a thought struck Weiss. Qrow had mentioned Ruby's father, but she couldn't see the point that the name Taiyang turned into _Dar_. Then she remembered the file she'd read back at the beginning of the year that she was fairly certain had listed Ruby's father as being named Darwin.

"Hold on, I'm a little confused." Weiss started, getting everyone's attention. "When you said _Dar_, I assume you meant…?"

"Yes, Darwin Rose was Ruby's father." Taiyang said solemnly. "I was a close friend of his."

"So… Ruby…" Weiss felt shocked. She'd just found out something she hadn't even given any thought about before.

"I took her in as Yang's little sister when Summer…" Taiyang shook his head and Qrow seemed to refocus on the conversation as if he'd zoned out the second Weiss had interrupted.

"So like I was telling you, there was a den or two of wolves on the hunt in the nearby forest and they musta smelled the happiness just oozing out of our little hut of a church. So they do what any grimm without the brains to stay the fuck away does. They came…" Qrow's smile vanished as if it were smoke. "Ruby was only seven or so. Maybe eight…. I can't remember anymore. She wanted to help but there was nothing she could do. Most of the wolves were older, more experienced. One even had the markings of dust on it's hide."

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang said, standing in front of her uncle. "Stop. Dad, go get some air."

Taiyang nodded and Qrow seemed to obey until Taiyang left the room with Blake in tow to make sure he was alright. Yang seemed just as pained as her father, but there was a difference. Yang had gotten over Summer's death, Taiyang hadn't.

"Go sit down like a good little girl." Qrow grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled Yang back onto the couch. It looked like she was going to argue but let it slide. "So some of the civilian guests kept Ruby, Yang, and the other kids by the church. It was surrounded, so there was nowhere to evacuate to. Taiyang, Darwin, and Summer had gone ahead to stop the pack's advance and I was lagging behind because I had been looking after the kids."

Qrow paused and pulled a flask from his pocket. He took a deep drink, dragging from the metal until it left his lips without a drop remaining to fall into his expecting mouth. He closed the flask and returned it to his jacket.

"So it turns out there were only a few of us that actually had our weapons. The wolves started to break through and the chaos started. It was a bloodbath, but fortunately for us, people only got hurt. The creatures fell easily to my blade and Taiyang did fair himself." Qrow spoke, his voice slowly fading into non existence. "I never noticed that she'd left. Apparently she'd gone around the end of the third hour of the fight. I only found out later when we finally cleared the remnants of the pack out… there was her weapon, stuck in the ground with her cape hanging off it in shreds…. They musta cornered her and she took them out with the one of them old methods. Effective, but that wasn't the point. Of course, Darwin… something broke inside him after that. Could barely keep himself alive let alone a daughter, so that job fell to me and Tai."

Qrow paused as he fought off the old memories. His face seemed almost sober, but the years of being a hunter had done their job well, hiding all emotion that might have shown on his face.

"Do you know how hard it is to explain to a seven year old that their mother ain't coming back?" The group shook their heads slowly, still somewhat shocked. "You cant… not really…"

"She sacrificed herself to decimate the pack… she saw we were going to lose if we continued to fight." Taiyang spoke sadly as he reentered. "I couldn't believe it until I had her cloak in my hands. But…"

"Ruby couldn't handle it." Yang finished the story. "She closed herself off to people. She started learning to fight, to create her weapons. Qrow taught her the right way to use a scythe and Dad helped her find her semblance. I was her sparring partner since I was already on my way through Signal."

"She never had a friend that I knew of." Qrow said sadly. "I was a teacher there before. I quit at the end of last year when I found out Ruby wouldn't be attending anymore."

"You'll understand how surprised we were when Ruby didn't come home at the beginning of the break." Taiyang said as he looked directly at the heiress. "Even more so when we found out who had managed to keep her at school longer than she needed to be."

"Ruby's never needed school." Qrow laughed. "She came out top of her class at signal without breaking a sweat. Not to mention she finished designing her weapon long before any of her classmates had even considered which class of weapon they'd adopt. Not to say she's stopped modding it though."

Qrow laughed as he stumbled to his feet. "I gotta go… there's nothing left."

He patted his jacket where the flask resided and started to walk out.

"Oh, hey there Ruby… I got a secret…" He whispered loudly.

The room kept quiet as he had just gone around the corner.

"So you should add this… then change this… and voilla!" He announced to Ruby who was apparently around the corner.

"Um… okay, but didn't you say last time that I should stop adding things to it?" Ruby asked in confusion even as the rustling of a bag sounded.

"That's when you were by yourself. Now you got teammates… and you're the leader." Qrow said quietly. "I still don't like the weight but it works the way you use it. Just keep it in moderation."

"Okay, I'll make sure it's not too heavy." Ruby replied.

"That's what I like to hear." Qrow said happily. "I'm going now, so have a good term."

Weiss mouthed her question to Yang who shrugged off the question, mouthing the reply not to worry.

"Hey, I'm finally done." Ruby walked into the room and stood at the door. When nobody moved, she tilted her head at everyone. "I thought we were going to be late?"

Weiss quickly looked down at the scroll. "We'll never make the first flight. But the second one was moved up a bit… we could leave now and do some review while we wait."

"Or…" Yang dragged out the word, looking around at her teammates. "We could just leave in another hour and do the review during the flight."

"I don't need review, so I'll just end up reading anyway." Blake interjected her intention to eliminate herself as a decision maker on the topic.

"Will you actually study? Or just look out the window the entire time like I think you will?" Weiss asked. Yang was being somewhat friendly, so she might as well try to be nicer as well.

"She'll have her face plastered to the window." Blake said.

"No I won't…" Yang argued. "I'm not a child."

"So that nose print on the window magically appeared between when we got on the flight and when we got off on our way here?" Blake asked, causing Ruby and Taiyang to start chuckling.

"Well…" Yang looked around for an out and hung her head in shame as she saw none. "Fine, but we don't get to go that high all the time… it's fun."

"We're not judging you." Weiss thought she held her amusement in quite well, but Yang still managed to detect it.

"Yes you are." Yang pouted and started for the door.

"Okay, but only a little." Weiss said as she followed. "Ruby'd tell you I was probably worse when I was looking at her ceiling."

"Bow chicka wow wow!" Taiyang called after them.

"Or something a little farther under it." Blake said almost simultaneously.

Yang spun to the group of people following her and pointed first to her father. "No." Then she turned so she was pointing at Blake. "Don't do that." She turned to Ruby. "Just forget it." And finally Weiss. "I can't believe you just took a shot at yourself."

"Ruby seems to have rubbed off on me, don't get used to it." Weiss shrugged. She realized what she said too late and looked to Blake and Taiyang.

Taiyang was obviously holding his remark in, or at least trying to. Blake was smiling like she would like nothing better than to say it. Yang followed Weiss's gaze and sighed, she waved her hand up in the air and sighed again as her father took a big breath in.

"As long as that's the only _rubbing off_ that's been happening." Taiyang almost burst as he started laughing at the embarrassed look that took hold on Ruby's face, then at the angry twitch of Yang's brow.

"What he said was much more entertaining." Blake conceded to leave her comment unspoken considering the look on Yang's face.

"Let's go." Yang's voice was flat as if she couldn't wait to leave her father's presence.

"Alright, then have a good term girls!" Taiyang said as he approached his daughters and gave them each a hug. He followed up by giving Blake and Weiss a hug as well before he stepped back. "And remember what I told you at the beginning of the year."

"Use our heads!" Ruby saluted as she took her suitcase and walked out the door.

"Don't punch the professors." Yang smiled as she followed.

"No, that's-" Taiyang trailed off with a sigh. He turned to Blake and Weiss who were already making their way out the door. "Please keep an eye on them for me?"

"We will, don't worry." Blake said as she left.

"I wouldn't be a very good girlfriend if I didn't…" Weiss blushed at the word girlfriend. It wasn't exactly new, but the novelty of it had a long way to go before it would start to wear off.

"You know, I don't have any right to say anything about your relationship." Taiyang replied. "And I can't say I know you, but I know the type of people your family associates themselves with."

"I assure you I am _not_ like them." Weiss said, stressing the negative.

"That's what I'm counting on." Taiyang stated as he grabbed onto the door to close it behind her.

"Weiss! Come on already!" Yang shouted from the front sidewalk where Weiss's three teammates were waiting.

"Take care of Ruby. It's been a while since I've seen her truly smile at anything other than her weapon." Taiyang said as Weiss started to turn.

Weiss turned her head back over her shoulder, her eyes meeting the same silver that she saw so often in Ruby's eyes. "You have my word."

Weiss turned and watched Ruby as she approached. The smile on Ruby's face calm but happy. _I might not be much of a Schnee, but I never break my word._


	47. Chapter 47

**Author's Note:**

**Hi everyone, this is just a quick reply to a bunch of reviews I've recieved as of late. And as always, Thanks for reading!**

**To everyone who thought my writing was "great" or "incredible" these past chapters: thanks, I really appreciate the praise.**

**To the Guests who thought I was dragging out this whole contract thing: yes, I was. I do have a reason for it and you can look forward to the next 15+ chapters thanks to it. I also wanted to establish or introduce certain aspects of the world of Iridescent Ice and specifically Ruby's past before I started moving forward and couldn't see a better time to do so.**

**To that one person who said I got the semblances and Qrow wrong. I'm not too bothered by it. As far as I'm concerned, I have (and most likely always will) base my stories off of what was canon at the end of volume 1. I might add a few things from later on, but probably not semblances. Call it artistic license if you want. Also, I wrote the drunk Qrow scene when he was just a name, so that was a lucky guess fueled by a NaNoWriMo writing prompt. To summarize: I'm not RoosterTeeth, I don't own RWBY, so it follows that this story isn't canon, nor will it ever be.**

**Again, to everyone who's stuck with this story, and we still have a ways to go before the end, thank you for reading!**

* * *

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

Weiss opened her eyes to the darkness of the early winter morning. It couldn't have been later than six and someone was making noise in the hall of the dorm. It wasn't unusual, but people tended to at least try to be quiet while others were sleeping.

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

Weiss jumped at the sudden noise. It wasn't just coming from the hall, it was someone knocking on their door. She glanced at the opposite set of bunks to find Yang sleeping like a rock as per usual, and Blake had her head buried in an assortment of pillows and blankets.

Weiss swung her legs off the bunk and peeked at Ruby. She still had her hand marking a page of a text book she must have fallen asleep reading. Weiss gently took it and marked it properly before setting it on the shelf.

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

Weiss quickly moved to the door after glancing at each of her teammates to make sure they were still sleeping. She opened the door to find a single mechanized soldier standing at attention.

"Weiss Schnee, identified." It spoke in a loud voice, causing Ruby and Blake to shift in their sleep. "Permission to relay message?"

"Go ahead, quietly!" Weiss hissed, looking over her shoulder.

"Weiss, I've modified this unit's memory circuit. He'll return to the airship and never remember leaving once this message is complete." Winter's voice spoke loudly from the robot's speakers.

"Wah?" Ruby yawned as she sat up to find out what the noise was about. Blake was just staring at Weiss and the Atlesian knight from where her head rested on a pillow, clearly not impressed at being woken so early.

"I've taken up residence in an unused dorm. Please ask your headmaster, as he has graciously allowed my temporary intrusion." Winter continued. "I have the contract and have already started work on it, but I'd hazard a guess we still have at least a week of work before we can make any progress. Oh, and I suppose it goes without saying, but tell nobody that I'm here. It would only complicate things further." On the recording a ringing started and Winter's voice turned urgent. "That's our father looking for me. I went AWOL and only have a second before I need to cut my scroll's power. See you soon Little Duck."

The recording died and the sentry turned and walked down the hall without another word. Weiss slowly closed the door as what was said sunk into her still sleepy brain. Just as the lock clicked the door shut again, Yang bolted upright with a gasp.

"Who's there?" She shouted at Weiss as she raised her fists.

"It's me you idiot." Weiss replied as she went back to her bed.

"What happened? Why were you at the door?" Yang asked, relaxing slightly.

"We'll tell you in the morning." Ruby replied groggily.

"Fine. Next time wake me up for these things." Yang pouted as she collapsed back to her pillow.

"We're not gods, don't ask the impossible." Blake mumbled, her voice muffled by her blankets.

Yang's reply came in the form of a snore as she'd already fallen back asleep. Ruby's breath slowed and Blake's followed soon after.

Weiss closed her eyes and let sleep creep up on her once more with a lone thought repeating in her head. _Winter's here to help us._


	48. Chapter 48

"The final match of the day is…" Glynda announced as the entire class waited patiently for the class to end. The spinning wheels slowly stopped one at a time. "Sky Lark versus Lie Ren."

The two combatants stood and started the trek out of the stands to the floor. Weiss felt relieved that she didn't need to fight again as she was still somewhat tired from Qrow's training. Ren and Sky were fairly evenly matched, so unlike the previous match with Pyrrha going against Russel, this would last longer than two minutes and stretch to the end of the class.

"So what's the plan again?" Yang asked, nudging Weiss with her elbow as they watched the fight start.

"I'm going with Ruby to speak with Ozpin." Weiss started. She'd told her team about most of what the message had said, but hadn't told anyone except Ruby what she wanted to do about it.

"Okay. We'll be back at the dorm waiting then." Yang said while she stretched her arms and leaned back farther into her seat.

"Once we're finished, we'll let you know where to find us." Weiss replied.

"Hey, just do me one favour, okay?" Yang asked, placing a comforting hand on Weiss's shoulder and gave her a one handed hug. "Cheer up for my baby sister? She hates seeing you worry like this."

"You know I can't help it." Weiss replied, looking down.

Behind them a wolf whistle sounded. Yang glanced back and sighed. "Hold on to that thought for a minute."

She turned back and Weiss heard the mechanical whir of Yang's gauntlet transforming into her weapon. The final clink of the transformation was hidden behind a loud crash from the floor where Ren had flipped Sky into the ground, hard.

"I could tell you wanted to say something… feeling lucky?" Yang called back quietly, deadly. When no answer came, Yang transformed her gauntlet back into the fashion accessory it posed as. She turned back and blew a spare strand of hair from her face. "Thought so… anyways you shouldn't be so serious about all this."

Weiss looked at Yang with surprise. After all, it had been Yang who'd basically ordered her to take Ruby seriously even if she hadn't needed to. Yang picked up on the question in Weiss's eyes and corrected herself.

"I don't mean don't be serious about the problem, just try to be a little happier when you're not working on it." Yang said. "You can't do anything about it at this very moment, so just worry about it later."

"You know, you and Ruby are more similar than I first realized." Weiss said, turning her attention back to the fight. Ren was on the defense as Sky tired himself out. "But I understand what you mean."

"Good." Yang said and fell silent. The two spent the rest of the class watching the fight and only exchanged a few words of farewell when the class was dismissed. Weiss waited for Ruby while she watched Yang meet up with Blake at the front of the class where she was sitting.

"Ready to go?" Ruby asked as she jogged to a halt in front of Weiss.

Weiss smiled, giving Ruby a quick peck on the cheek. The public displays of affection were still very new to her, but it was something she'd get used to for Ruby. Even just now finishing their first real school day as a couple, she felt the stares coming less and less. She could now hold Ruby's hand comfortably without caring when someone would look back at them.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Ruby asked, noticing the grin on Weiss's face.

"Naturally." Weiss replied as she led the way to their headmaster's office. "I have to let everyone know you're off limits, now don't I?"

"Are you sure it's not to discourage all the guys that still want to ask you out?" Ruby asked, surprised at Weiss's reply.

"Well…" Weiss paused and glanced over at Ruby. "We'll just call that an added benefit… for the both of us."

Ruby grinned and returned the peck to Weiss's cheek before they left the building into the windy day. The sky was as clear and blue as you could ever ask for but as a result, it was also at least ten degrees colder than normal before adding on the chill of the northern wind that blew past the two huntresses as they quickly walked from their class to the next building which housed most of the faculty offices and the massive clock tower.

"Burr!" Ruby shivered as they stepped into the blast of heat coming from the heater above the door to the complex. "Why is it so cold today of all days?"

"The forecaster said it was only going to get colder going into January." Weiss replied as she released Ruby's hand to rub hers together. "Maybe it's a good thing though. We'll have less time to get distracted if we can't go outside."

"Yeah. I figured that too." Ruby replied.

The two walked through the twisting hallways and came to the hallway Ruby had been down several times already. She turned and Weiss followed as she approached the desk of Glynda Goodwitch who was nursing a steaming cup of coffee. As they approached, two more of the staff came into view. The large belly of Peter Port proceeding himself into their view and finally Ozpin appeared, seemingly unaffected by the day as he slowly nursed his cup as he always did.

"Let's hold those thoughts for a moment." Glynda spoke to the group, halting their already hushed conversation. "Is there anything I can help you two with?"

Weiss stepped forwards and nodded. "I would like to speak to Professor Ozpin if you can spare the time."

"Can I ask about what you'd like to speak about?" Ozpin asked before taking another small sip from his cup. "On a day like today, I can assure you that going hunting in emerald forest is not a wise decision."

"Actually, we already got what we needed from last time, but thank you again!" Ruby piped in, referring to their beowolf project that Weiss realized still wasn't near completion.

"It's about my sister." Weiss said, glancing around at the other two.

"How is Winter? She really was one to watch back in Atlas. Too bad she was in that accident." Port reminisced.

"She's doing well." Ozpin replied. "At the moment, she's hiding from her father in the dormitories."

"Really!" Port replied. "Well before she leaves, she should come by my office. I'm sure she'd be impressed by how well Weiss has kept up to her old records!"

"I'll let her know." Weiss replied and turned back to Ozpin. "She gave me instructions to ask you where I could find her."

"I gave her the keys to the dorm room, the fourth room on the left, after you get to the top floor." Ozpin said. "And if you can, maybe find out why she wanted to get the top floor when there is actually a room down your hallway that isn't in use…. Though, I can imagine what her response will be."

"Thank you sir." Weiss turned and started walking away.

"Don't start neglecting your studies, girls! I'd hate to see you fall from the top of your class! And you've been improving well too, Ruby!" Professor Port called after them as they started winding their way back to the dormitories.

"Do we have to go outside again?" Ruby asked as Weiss turned towards the doors. "Can't we take the underground passage?"

"But this is faster." Weiss argued. "If you want, I'll go this way and you can meet me in the dorms."

"But…" Ruby hesitated.

"It's not like we have to do absolutely everything together." Weiss said as she started for the door. She needed to get started on the contract and the longer she stood here with Ruby, the less time she had.

"Right…." Ruby sounded deflated as she acknowledged Weiss.

"Then I'll see you in a few minutes. If I get there first, I'll go to Winter's room so you can find us." Weiss stated. "Bye."

Weiss walked out the door into the blistering cold and started a light jog along the shoveled paths to the dorms. Nobody else was outside so Weiss found herself moving much faster than she'd normally go.

At least that was until her arm was captured in a warm embrace.

"Ruby!" Weiss jumped, almost slipping on the poorly sanded ice. "You surprised me!"

Ruby simply nodded as she curled her neck farther into her cloak. They continued at a slightly slower pace now that they were holding hands but Weiss was suddenly reminded of something. Even if she wasted time not working on the contract, what use would it be if she pushed Ruby away in order to nullify it. Then she'd be exactly where she was before they started dating, with the exception that she'd had a chance at happiness and let it slip away.

"Hey, cheer up. We'll get this thing done." Ruby spoke confidently as they entered the dorms.

"Huh?" Weiss asked, not quite sure she was following their conversation.

"You're worrying about the contract again and I told you not to." Ruby reiterated. "We'll get you out and then you can do whatever you want."

"Sorry." Weiss apologized. "I guess I was worrying about pushing you away. I don't want to be alone again."

Ruby wrapped her in a somewhat shivery hug as they warmed up in the nice heated air. "Don't worry about that. I'd never leave you for ignoring me for a while just so you could stay with me longer."

"You make it sound so simple." Weiss sighed and gave Ruby a quick kiss. "But now we really should get going, Winter wont want to wait forever."

"I dunno, she seemed pretty patient so far…" Ruby said, noting the entire school day she'd waited before Weiss was even able to find her.


	49. Chapter 49

"What in the world took you so long?" Winter asked, giving Ruby the impression of an older, larger chested version of Weiss. "I've been waiting all day for you!"

"We had class, duh." Weiss replied with a smirk. "Nice to see you Winter."

Winter pulled Weiss into a hug. "So how was your break? Get into lots of trouble?"

"Definitely!" Ruby replied, making Winter raise her eyebrows questioningly. "We had a snowball fight, a paint-ball fight, a tickle fight, and went on a date!"

"Not what she was asking, Ruby." Weiss said, waving her down. "And don't ask her things like that!"

"Come on, what good is an younger sister if you don't get to hear all her embarrassing secrets?" Winter laughed as she released Weiss to ruffle Ruby's hair in an oddly Yang-like fashion.

"Anyway, where's the contract? I'd like to get a good start today if possible." Weiss said, stepping back.

"Always with the work." Winter shook her head. "Is she like this all the time, Ruby?"

"Well, she helps me study a lot-" Ruby started.

"And who decided you needed to study?" Winter asked knowingly.

"Well, I'm sorry if I don't want you to get kicked out of school!" Weiss blushed. "And speaking of, I don't want to leave early either, so…"

"Make with the contract, right." Winter sighed. "It's right here."

Winter picked up a massive piece of roll around luggage. She dropped it on the bed and unzipped the top.

"Your wedding contract. In it's complete four thousand page glory." Winter announced, then continued in a quicker voice. "Legal sized, single spaced, four font, and double sided as is Schnee custom."

"What sort of thing is this?" Ruby asked as she tried to read the page on the top of the stack closer to her. "Parental biodiversity for… what?"

"Oh, that's for making sure that when Weiss has a baby, it's genes come from a top quality donor." Winter replied. "It's a shame that we'll be voiding this… it really is a beauty, contract wise."

"Right…" Weiss nodded unapologetically, her attention was already consumed. Her eyes seemed almost glazed as they slid over the front page of the contract. Ruby watched them slide back and forth a few times before looking back at Winter who was watching the two.

"So… why are you here again?" Ruby asked tentatively.

"To give Weiss the contract, of course." Winter flipped her hair over her shoulder in a very Weiss-like fashion. Ruby's look told her she didn't believe her and she sighed. "I wanted to see if you were a good fit for her."

"We're best friends, of course we're a good fit!" Ruby pulled Weiss into a one armed hug.

"Get off me, you dunce. Can't you tell I'm busy?" Weiss asked distractedly, her eyes still sliding over the front page as she turned back to the suitcase.

"Sorry if I missed that point." Winter replied wryly.

"Heh…" Ruby rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment of her rejection while trying to prove a point.

"Well, I think a better way to phrase it would be if she's a good fit for you." Winter frowned at her sister's back. "But whatever, let's leave her to go over it. I hear they make amazing burgers in the cafeteria here."

"Wait till you taste the cookies!" Ruby exclaimed as Winter started to lead Ruby out of the room.

"Maybe you should invite your teammates to join us. It is around dinner time after all." Winter suggested.

"Great idea, then you'll get to meet Yang!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Wait!" Weiss commanded, dropping the paper back onto the piles and turning quickly to the others.

"What? You don't want to introduce your sister to your friends?" Winter asked, sounding somewhat put out.

"That's not it… I just…" Weiss looked from Winter to Ruby and back again before sighing. "Let's get this over with, then."

"Alright!" Ruby pumped her fist into the air and led the way out of the room.


	50. Chapter 50

"What took you so long? I thought you were going to send us a message!" Yang complained as the door to the dorm opened.

"Sorry, sis!" Ruby apologized. "We got busy and then we decided to all get supper, so here we are!"

"Hello. I'm Winter, Weiss's older sister." Winter introduced herself to Yang and Blake.

"Winter, huh?" Yang asked as she took the offered hand. "I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister."

"Blake." Blake introduced herself when Winter offered her hand again. "Teammate."

"Perfect." Winter smiled. "So let's go get something to eat."

"What'd you have in mind?" Yang asked.

"She wants cafeteria food." Weiss sighed as she dropped her and Ruby's school bags near the desk.

"Let me guess… salad." Yang smiled at Winter who returned the smile challengingly.

"Burgers." She replied. "Bet you I can eat more of them."

"You're on!" Yang grinned as she turned to Weiss. "Your sister's got a lot of confidence."

"Oh, that's not confidence." Weiss sighed again as she left the group to take Ruby's hand since she was waiting for everyone out in the hall. "She went to college."

* * *

"I can't believe I lost…" Yang groaned as her chin pressed into the table in front of her.

Her eyes were trained straight ahead as she watched Winter devour yet another burger while Ruby kept score on her scroll a quick glance told Yang she'd fallen eight burgers behind and they hadn't even been there for half an hour.

"I told you." Weiss said as she dropped her fork into her empty salad bowl.

"Well, I thought she'd be like you." Yang said in reply to Weiss.

"To be honest, I'm not sure who in the family Weiss takes after." Winter admitted as she finally wiped her mouth with her napkin and picked up her cola. "She's the only one who doesn't really care for meat."

"It's not that I don't like meat, it's that I'm not a fan of the taste of grease." Weiss stated simply.

"Yeah, she'll have a burger sometimes." Ruby supported her girlfriend.

"Anyhow, now that we're finished, would you mind if I left to finish looking over the contract?" Weiss asked Ruby. Ruby nodded and Weiss gave her a small peck on the forehead as she rose from her seat. "I'll be back at the dorm later, so don't worry if I'm late, okay?"

"Sure." Ruby nodded. Weiss walked away, leaving Winter as the W in team RWBY.

"So why are you here?" Blake asked cautiously. "I'm sure there are better things you could be doing other than eat with Weiss's classmates."

"You could say that." Winter answered with a smirk. "I wanted to see what sort of life Weiss has made for herself since starting Beacon."

"Why now though? Wouldn't it have been better to wait till next year?" Blake asked in return.

"That was the original plan, but when she announced her courtship with Ruby, things progressed faster than I would have preferred." Winter replied.

"So you're not a fan of this wedding bull either." Yang stated, summing up Winter's statement.

"Couldn't have described it better myself." Winter replied, bumping Yang's fist with perfect timing as if she'd been expecting it.

"Can I ask you guys something?" Ruby asked, breaking into the conversation.

"Sure." Winter replied quickly, turning to the scythe wielder.

"Well, I know we have to find a way out of the contract, but what exactly do we do?" Ruby asked.

"I was wondering that as well." Blake interjected.

"I'll help if I can but I'm not so great at doing that sort of thing." Yang said. "But if you can point me in the direction of a plan B that doesn't involve a contract, then I'm all ears."

Winter smiled at the three so willing to help her sister. She realized it was just a matter of time before Weiss made friends, and she felt relieved that even after just four months together, they were willing to stand up for each other regardless of how hopeless the situation seemed.

"Hey, guys. Who's that?" Nora called from across the cafeteria. A second later she was leaning over the table staring at Winter. "It looks like Weiss got old and grew boobs!"

"Nora, cut that out!" Ren reprimanded her as he approached and pulled her back by the collar.

"Sorry, she does that sometimes." Pyrrha apologized as she approached with Jaune.

"And that's why we can't make new friends!" Jaune whispered harshly to Nora who ignored him as if he'd never even spoken. Ren shook his head in defeat and released her once again since she wasn't putting up any resistance.

"Hey guys, this is Weiss's sister." Yang said with a wave to Winter. "Winter's visiting for a bit."

"Cool! I didn't know she had a sister!" Nora responded excitedly. "What if she also has a robot dinosaur hidden under her bed?"

"I'm pretty sure that's not possible." Ren replied.

"Actually, our family does have something that resembles a Tyrannosaurus ten floors below our bedrooms at White Castle." Winter offered.

"See! I told you!" Nora flicked Ren on the forehead before jumping onto the table so she was looking straight up at Winter. "You're so cool. And you're bigger than Weiss!"

"Thank you…" Winter replied, starting to understand the tired expressions on the rest of her team's faces.

"Okay, down Nora." Yang laughed, pulling her back to the bench beside her.

Winter looked around at the group and Jaune jumped to attention.

"Right, um… I'm Jaune." He introduced himself. Then he said each of his teammate's names while they said their greetings in turn. "And we make up team JNPR. And we live across the hall from RWBY."

"You're good friends, then?" Winter asked with a look around the group. Everyone was nodding, so it seemed she could speak freely. "Then can I request your help too?"

"That was actually something Weiss asked me to do while she was looking it over." Ruby told Winter. Then she turned to the newly arrived team. "We need to break her marriage contract."

"Just tell us what you need!" Pyrrha nodded.

"Sure thing." Jaune agreed.

"I'll help if I can." Ren said with a glance at Nora.

"I'll break it's legs!" Nora yelled, getting the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity before they realized it was Nora and returned to their meals.

"Then first, thank you all. Weiss might be too stressed to say it but I'm sure she really appreciates your willingness to help." Winter gave a small polite bow to the group. "And then if you're okay with it, I'd like to start assigning jobs to everyone."

"Sounds good." Ruby spoke for the group.

"I just need to know how JNPR is with legal terminology." Winter looked at the group imploringly.

"I'm alright…" Jaune said with a shrug.

"I should be fine as well." Pyrrha nodded.

"I've had some experience." Ren stated.

"I can read!" Nora exclaimed excitedly.

"Alright…." Winter didn't know what to make of Nora's comment, but decided against questioning it. "Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, Weiss and I will work on the contract. Yang and Nora, I want you two to go research the local customs and laws for Mystral. Anything pertaining to marriage I want you to bring to me, and you can start thinking something up in case we can't crack that contract in time."

"Are you sure you'll be okay with Nora?" Ren asked Yang.

"Pfft… what's the worst that could happen?" She replied dismissively.

"Then let's get going." Winter stood and led the way out of the cafeteria.


	51. Chapter 51

"Holy-" Winter gasped as she reentered her dorm room.

"What is it?" Ruby asked as she peeked around the older Schnee to find her girlfriend sitting on a chair between two stacks of paper.

"Even I haven't read that much of it." Winter spoke as she shook herself and reentered the room.

"It's nothing special. Most of this is boiler-plate template." Weiss said as she quickly scanned a page before flipping it over and placing it neatly on the opposite stack and reaching for the next one. "As of yet, I haven't found anything too special except section six-eff-bee-eight point three, subsection bravo-delta-nine."

"Right, that's the fix to company boiler plate that happened in early October." Winter replied. "There's also a few others that appear in every section between see-four-two-two point one sub alpha-bravo-oh, and eff-six-one-nine point bee sub delta-alpha-oh."

"Right, I'll skip those once I come to them then." Weiss fell silent again as she continued to scan the file one page at a time, slowly picking up speed as she came to sections that her sister had mentioned.

"Can you explain what just happened?" Ruby asked in a whisper to Blake.

Winter overheard the question and turned to invite everyone inside the room. "Every contract is broken down into sections and subsections. This contract is specifically difficult as it has an additional decimal place to the section numbers. As is Schnee standard practice, all sections and subsections are numbered in a base sixteen instead of base ten in order to shorten the length of the headings."

"So what do we do?" Ruby asked cluelessly as she watched Weiss move the papers from one pile to the other.

"Weiss, what are the first five problem sections?" Winter asked over her shoulder.

"Three-alpha point two through seven, not four." Weiss responded irritatedly.

"There we go then." Winter clapped and spun to pick up the stack Weiss was filling. She removed it and Weiss started piling the papers on the ground again. Winter flipped the stack and started leafing through the paper until she pulled a handful of pages from the middle. "Alright, just take notes on possible outcomes or exits while you go through the piece and strike them out when you find something that closes the hole."

"I know there should be a joke in there somewhere, but I'm not quite sure Weiss would appreciate it." Blake smiled.

"Looks like Yang's started to rub off on you too." Ren sighed as he took the first bunch of papers Winter was offering.

"Okay, let's do this!" Jaune said as he took his papers and the rest followed his example. Ruby was last in line and Winter held onto the papers and leaned closer to make sure nobody else would overhear her whisper.

"Ruby, I've never seen Weiss this serious before. She looks like she might just snap under the stress she's feeling." Winter spoke, her lips barely moving. "If anyone can get her to take a deep breath, I'll put my money on it being you. Please?"

"Uh… sure!" Ruby agreed, not exactly grasping the implication Winter had made, but deciding to give it a shot regardless.

Ruby sat down on the bed in front of Weiss, she looked around the room to find the others in various positions on the couch, the opposite beds and the window ledge.

"Hey, Weiss…" Ruby whispered, leaning into Weiss's personal space.

"What is it Ruby? I'm busy." Weiss asked, a frown marring her features.

"I need you to look up for a second." Ruby said, ignoring the tone of voice Weiss had. She'd dealt with worse before and she knew the frustration wasn't aimed at her.

"What is it?" Weiss asked again and then looked up. Ruby cut off any other words with a kiss to her lips that surprised her and after a moment, when Ruby felt Weiss's resistance crumble, she pulled away.

"Relax, you've got all of us to help." Ruby said quietly so as not to disturb anyone. "We'll find a solution, but you need to let us help you."

Weiss nodded and took a long calming breath.

"Alright… start on that section then." Weiss said as she pointed to the papers in Ruby's hand. She quickly turned to the room at large. "When you're done with one section, let me know and I'll give you another. If we can, let's get through the first hundred tonight."

"Just leave it to us." Jaune replied for the group.

Weiss turned back to Ruby. Once again, she reminded herself of that one important idea she accidentally kept pushing aside. "I love you Ruby."

"I love you too Weiss, now let's crack this thing!" Ruby smiled and pulled out Weiss's notebook from her pocket. She clicked her pen into action and flashed Weiss one last smile before she set to work on the contract. Her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth as she concentrated and scribbled the odd note, and Weiss felt an overwhelming sense of relief. With everyone helping her, they were sure to work something out.


	52. Chapter 52

"We'd love to help, but we have projects we haven't finished yet." Pyrrha apologized as they left class that Wednesday. "I don't think any of us knew we'd have so much work to do once the new term started… I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I understand." Weiss nodded, her mind already going back to the pages of notes they'd compiled so far. "You've all been a great help, though."

"I'm sorry about this." Ren apologized again.

"And I forgot about the mission we signed up for." Jaune sighed

"Forget about it. It's our problem anyway." Ruby waved him off. "See you later then!"

"Bye." Jaune waved as he led his team off down a different corridor.

The group of four walked quickly down the halls until they entered the dormitory.

"Whelp, I'll leave you guys to do your thing, and I'll go do mine." Yang yawned. "Ruby, you don't mind if I borrow your headphones to stay awake, right?"

"What?" Ruby asked. Her head, like her girlfriend's, was already thinking about the progress they'd made and what was left to do. "No, go ahead. Just don't break them."

"Sure thing." Yang saluted and jogged off to their room as the remaining three continued to the stairwell.

It took only a minute to reach the top floor and knock on Winter's door. A brief shout indicated the door was open and the trio entered before bolting the door behind them.

The room had changed significantly in the two days since they'd started their work, and that meant where a bed had once stood, several desks were arranged, each equipped with a holographic projection screen and stacks of paper that had already been looked through or written on. On the bookshelf that sat below the window, a large coffee maker was churning out its most recent pot of sludge as Winter sat on the single remaining bed with a pen behind her ear and an assortment of papers and projected screens around her.

"So if we…" Winter mumbled, deep in concentration as she sifted through a pile of papers and glanced back up at one of the hollow screens. "Then… damn it, covered in that one… so then…"

Weiss led the way to the desks and took the seat at the one she'd used the previous day. Ruby on her left and Blake behind her on the right. They wordlessly went to work, plugging their scrolls into the projection systems and finding the places they'd left off. They'd only gone through three quarters of the contract up till they called it quits the previous day, but Weiss was hopeful they'd at least finish it that day.

She looked up to find the progress Winter had made was somewhat disappointing, mainly finding problems with the proposed solutions that they'd come up with for various parts of the contract they'd read. It was useful to have Winter helping since she'd done this before, but at the same time it meant that she'd revealed her location when she powered her scroll back up. Whatever her father thought of it, Weiss couldn't care less, but still, she worried her sister was needlessly putting herself into his sights.

"Hey, how's it going, guys?" Winter asked after a while. She got up and walked over to the coffee maker as it hissed with the now full pot of coffee. "Had a good day?"

"No." Ruby answered first. "It was long, and boring, and there's so much work to do."

"I already told her to go do her homework, she wouldn't listen." Weiss huffed in response as she continued to take notes at a furious pace. The projection screen traced her hand and created virtual documents that it shared with the others to make the collaboration easier.

"Aw… that means she cares more about you than her grades!" Winter squealed teasingly. "But where'd everyone else go?"

"They had projects and a mission to prepare for." Blake spoke up as she stretched her neck out before she started concentrating on her work.

"Oh… I guess that happens, it is a combat school after all." Winter nodded quietly as she turned away. "Is your sister still working the library?"

"Huh?" Ruby looked up to find Winter looking down at her from the doorway. "Yeah, she should be."

"Alright, I'm just going to go see how she's doing. I'll be back in a few." Winter waved as she left.

Winter walked quickly towards the dorm's library. It didn't take her long to find the blond girl nodding her head as she collected research materials from a shelf in the international reference section. She followed her back to her seat without being noticed as there was rather loud music blaring from her headphones.

She sat down beside the sister of her sister's girlfriend and tapped on her shoulder. Yang jumped and spun, her fist already up in preparation for an attack when she realized who it was and ripped the headphones down to rest around her neck.

"Shit, you shouldn't just sneak up on me like that!" Yang breathed as she turned back to the book. "I almost hit you."

"You can't really call it sneaking if you weren't paying attention, can you?" Winter asked in reply. There was a short pause in which Yang glared at her from the corner of her eye.

"Now I know where your sister got her attitude from." Yang stated challengingly.

"And I can see where Ruby got her stubbornness from." Winter replied in kind, waiting for Yang's next move. After a minute of nothing but constant eye contact, Yang sighed.

"I doubt you came to trade shots with me, and you probably know exactly how much of a wild goose chase you sent me on." Yang stated seriously. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I don't want anything." Winter waved dismissively. Yang noted the slight shift in her eyes as she spoke, as if she was just barely breaking eye contact for the moment in which she lied. Then her eyes returned to normal.

"Bull shit." Yang replied gruffly, making a passing teacher pause before she recognized Winter as a Schnee. Even in Beacon, it was obvious that nobody wanted to get in the family's way. Especially when it came to those who weren't enrolled.

But Yang stood her ground, her eyes flickering on the edge of their pale lavender and the blood red that signaled the overflow of her aura. She'd been chosen for sparring practice that day, so her aura was already about three quarters drained, which meant she still had more than enough to take out a small army of grimm if she needed to. One ex-heiress wasn't going to be a problem.

Winter backed down after a moment and sighed. "Alright then, if we must do things this way, then so be it. What are your sister's motives?"

"What makes you think she has any?" Yang responded cryptically. She knew these people were the types to twist your words to suit them and decided to keep her silence if she could. Blake was really good at this sort of thing, but she was probably still helping out Weiss and Ruby. So she was alone.

"Come on Yang, I'm not stupid." Winter laughed darkly. "Your sister just 'happens' to bump into my sister who is slated to become the single most wealthy person on Remnant, and then just 'happens' to become her partner for the duration of her education, and then as if by fate she just 'happens' to fall in love with Weiss. Great story for a romance novel, I admit. But I'm sure you can agree that the real world isn't so convenient."

Yang felt her blood boil at the insinuations Winter was making. She had come across much differently the day before, but Yang guessed this was the business side of Winter when it came to her sister and her family. And even though she was only a couple years older than Ruby and Winter was obviously much older than Weiss, she knew that this fight was between the sisters alone.

"I want to know why she's been dating my sister, and then I want her removed from the situation. Whether that removal comes from my hand or yours remains up to you." Winter spoke calmly, mechanically.

"You lay a finger on my sister, and I'll make sure your feet aren't sticking out of the grave." Yang replied, cracking her right fist. Her hair was already starting to give off the ripples of heat that came with her aura.

"Then let me rephrase since you seem to have taken a liking to Weiss as well… you want her out of this marriage?" Winter asked. Yang nodded suspiciously. "There is only a single way out, and that is for everything to return to normal. Weiss moves back home, she attends her private lessons, and then she'll get married as was originally planned when she turns twenty one."

"See, there's one _tiny_ little problem with that." Yang whispered as a group of students passed them. "She doesn't want to get married, period."

"Whether she wants to or not, it's none of your business." Winter stated with an air of finality. "But for the time being, I'll overlook your poor manners in exchange for the real reason your sister is dating mine."

Yang felt her aura flare white hot for a moment, and knew she'd used up a small amount of it as the pencil in her hand caught fire. She quickly dropped it and stamped it out as she rose from her chair. She took a deep calming breath before replying.

"I'm not sure how your world works, but most people date because they enjoy each others company." Yang said.

"And why does Ruby date?" Winter asked in response. Yang ground her teeth together and clenched her fist.

"Because she likes sucking your sister's face, good enough for you?" Yang spat, her aura turning the saliva to steam as it left her lips.

"How rude. If you won't answer my question, you leave me no choice. I, Winter Schnee, challenge you, Yang Xiao Long to a duel." Winter spoke as she too rose from her chair. She pulled her hand out of her pocket and expertly flung a white glove at Yang as was the tradition for Atlesian duels. The glove entered Yang's field of aura and disintegrated to ash and then to nothing before it even landed on her cheek.

"Let's do this outside." Yang said with a glance at the crowd that had started to gather at the two raised voices. "I'm not a fan of the library, but it's got its uses."

"Fair enough." Winter replied and led the way out of the dorm to the courtyard that lay between three of the main buildings.

As they walked, Yang felt a vibration in her pocket. Blake had messaged her.

_I saw the drop in your aura. We're on our way._

Yang smiled to herself. This was just coming up roses for her. Maybe Winter would have second thoughts about this duel once she found out her sister was watching.

"Schnee!" Yang shouted loudly as they walked outside. They now had a decently sized group of people following to watch a duel between one of the best fighters in the first years and someone who looked like an older version of their heiress classmate.

"What? Getting cold feet?" Winter taunted before turning around. Yang's feet were planted on green grass as her aura had already melted the snow and ice on the ground.

"Just wanted to let you know our sister's will be watching this." Yang replied. "Thought I'd give you one last chance to avoid getting your ass handed to you in front of them!"

"I will not lose." Winter replied as she drew her blade.

"You want some?" Yang grinned as she transformed her gauntlets. "Then come and get it!"


	53. Chapter 53

**Author's Note:**

**Hi everyone! I'm back! Thanks for sticking with me even though I sort of disappeared there for a while, but I promise there is more on the way. I just need to look over it before I get it up here.**

**So I was originally going to put this chapter off for a while but when I heard of international dance day, logically I remembered I left you hanging on the edge of a fight. So... let's dance!... Or read, whatever works for you. But regardless, enjoy! And more to come soon!**

* * *

"Come on!" Blake said urgently, standing from her seat.

"Where are we going?" Weiss asked.

"Yang's in trouble, and I think I know why." She replied as she headed for the door.

"But we have a ton of work to do." Weiss argued.

"It'll be here when you get back." Ruby replied, pulling Weiss to her feet.

Blake ran down the stairs, leading her teammates while typing directions into her scroll. Ruby looked down at hers to see her sister's aura ever so slowly draining, the clear indicator that she was far beyond angry. She was furious.

A small window popped up in front of Ruby's readouts asking to allow the summoning of the entire team's lockers. She approved it as Blake burst out of the dorm's doors and into a large crowd.

"Then come and get it!" Yang yelled as a wave of heat pushed the crowd back a step with a wave of burning air.

"As you wish." Winter leapt forward with her saber, aiming a slash at Yang who blocked it with one arm and punched with the other. Winter blocked the hit with a small amount of aura and separated from her opponent who was slowly following her retreat.

Winter pulled the dagger out of the hilt of her weapon, spinning them both and halting just as Yang came within range.

Yang jumped forward quickly as Winter countered her melee attacks with her blades. Winter spun quickly, putting herself back on the offensive. And stabbed her weapons at varying places around Yang's body.

Surprisingly, Yang caught every attack and knocked them aside. Winter watched as Yang threw a punch to her head and ducked as she lashed out with a large slashing attack. The attack hit Yang but her aura took the full hit. Yang fell back, sliding through slush until she came to a stop five meters away.

"Not bad…" Yang grunted as she got back up and shook the clinging ice from her gauntlets. "But my sister could hit harder when she was five."

Yang glanced to the crowd to see Ruby and Weiss standing by with Blake as the two opponents faced off once again.

Winter seemed to move faster than before, and Yang couldn't help but laugh as Winter rained down blows only to have Yang block every one.

"You don't get it, do you? My sister's semblance is speed!" Yang laughed as Winter placed a large gap between them. "If you've got nothing but what you've shown so far, you might as well quit now."

"I'll kill you." Winter spoke quietly, but in the silent courtyard, every one of the spectators heard the promise.

At the side, Weiss was gripping Ruby's hand tightly. She had never seen her sister so possessed, and full of hate as she was at that moment. But she felt the tension between the two fighters escalate in their silent battle of wills.

"Then let's dance, beautiful." Yang taunted her as she settled into her kick-boxing stance and cocked one of her gauntlets to eject an empty shell.

Winter lunged forward again, Weiss took notice of the barely visible glyph below her and she realized Winter was using her semblance. It wasn't as useful as Weiss's, since it could only boost speed, but it could be effective when Winter used it correctly.

Winter hit Yang hard, her left gauntlet's plating denting on the impact and crushing the transformation mechanism. Yang dodged the smaller dagger and brought her knee up into Winter's stomach. Winter took the hit with her aura and spun away, her blades dragging against Yang's fists and creating small sparks for five whole seconds before she moved back on the offensive. Winter used her glyphs to move under Yang's hits and take down her aura with small slices to her abdomen that her aura immediately healed.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled from the sidelines. "Hit back!"

"Right." Yang yelled back, not too concerned about the advice. First, she needed to learn Winter's attack pattern, and that meant creating openings. Yang's thought process was interrupted as she felt her aura reach the breaking point and moved so Winter was forced to hit her with the hilt of her blade.

Yang went limp as she was thrown back by the blow. Sure, she got scraped up as she dropped her aura's protective shield, but the ice cold slush helped clear her head. She remained on the ground as she faked her recovery from her fall, which she knew looked worse than it was.

Weiss looked down at her scroll and saw that Yang's aura was as low as she'd ever seen it. It was at the very last few percent, but holding stable. She looked up to find her sister walking slowly over to the downed brawler and a horrible premonition made her call out.

"Stop!" Winter stopped and looked over at Weiss. Ruby's eyes were on Yang who smiled, and gave a small thumbs up while her opponent was distracted.

"I must finish this duel, Weiss." Winter spoke calmly. "It's for your own good."

"No!" Weiss protested, taking steps away from the crowd and leaving Ruby with Blake. "Just walk away, it's over."

"I promised her death, Weiss." Winter spoke, still no emotion. "A Schnee never goes back on her word."

"You're wrong!" Weiss shouted. "Before I left for Beacon, I made a promise to become a huntress. I made that promise to keep my family safe!"

"Then killing her won't have any effect." Winter shrugged and turned back to Yang. She sheathed the dagger into the hilt of the saber as she did so.

"She's my sister!" Weiss argued, freezing Winter to her spot.

"She is no such thing." Winter replied icily, without turning. "You would do well to remember that."

Yang slowly pushed herself to her feet and faced down Winter.

"Step back, Weiss. You don't want to get in my way." Winter said sadly as she watched Yang like a hawk.

"But-"

"Do what she says." Yang ordered, spitting some blood from her mouth before smiling at Winter.

"I'm surprised you're still able to stand, but it's of no matter. You won't be doing anything soon enough." Winter started her approach and Yang simply stood there, casually watching her with raised eyebrows.

"This is where I'm supposed to say something along the lines of 'spare me,' right?" Yang asked calmly. It was a calm that was just as emotionally detached as Winter, and there were only three people in that courtyard that knew why. Yang knew she had already won.

"If that is your wish, then you'll take your sister and leave." Winter ordered, stopping just out of range of a strike.

Yang looked up at the sky as she spoke. "Oh look! What's that?"

Yang mimed catching something and unwrapping it behind her hand. Winter watched in confusion at Yang's theatrics as she fiddled with her fingers and turned her hand. She removed her shielding hand and gave Winter the middle finger.

"It's the flying fuck I don't give." Yang laughed as Winter let out a bellow of rage at being distracted by her opponent's childish humor.

Winter's attack came crashing down at Yang who caught the blade in her armored hand. Yang squeezed her hand shut and the blade shattered to small fragments as the fighter kicked her semblance into action. Winter drew the dagger out of the useless weapon's hilt and attempted a stab only to have her wrist kicked by Yang, making the dagger fly off into the snow across the courtyard.

Winter backed off as Yang approached.

"Because you're Weiss's sister, I'll let you off easy." Yang stated, disengaging the locks on her gauntlets and letting them drop to the ground as she walked. "But this will still hurt you… a hell of a lot more than it'll hurt me."

Weiss watched as Yang effortlessly landed a knee to Winter's stomach, making her double over as the air was forced from her lungs even though her aura absorbed most of the blow. She watched as Yang kicked her feet out from under her, making her land on her knees, and she did nothing but watch as Yang landed a perfectly executed ax kick to her sister's head that landed her in the snow, most likely unconscious. She watched because Winter had tried to get rid of Yang and by extension, Ruby. And she found that she wasn't at all upset about it.

Yang apparently thought the fight was over too, and turned back to the group as Winter struggled to her feet.

"You think you've won? You bitch!" Winter screamed, using her semblance to rush at Yang. Yang turned just in time to catch Winter on her forearm, but her hand had already curled into her hair. Yang pushed Winter off and she tumbled with her momentum and came to a stop on her feet. In her right hand, a small clump of golden hair.

"You shouldn't have done that." Yang spoke darkly as she approached Winter, her hair seemingly alive like flame.

Winter was oblivious to the danger she'd just put herself in and took a boxing stance.

Yang came within range and she threw a punch that Yang easily dodged and a second one that hit Yang's shoulder. Yang simply walked through the punch as if she hadn't even felt it.

"Sweet dreams, Princess." Yang smiled, her eyes glowing dark red as she unleashed a punch that sent Winter flying through the air and then through the walls of the distant building that housed the school's administrative offices.

Yang looked around at the crowd who was just turning back from watching Winter fly fifty meters before punching through three solid brick walls without losing an inch of altitude. They looked back at her with looks of fear and respect and in the case of her teammates, grim approval.

"Someone should probably make sure she's alive." Yang spoke tiredly to the crowd and after a moment of muttering, a team of four walked away to where Winter was still lying as the rest of the crowd started to disperse.

Weiss approached Yang and stopped, lost for what words she could use to convey her thoughts. Ruby was at her side supportively and Blake came around to let her lean on her shoulder. She noticed for the first time that all three were armed with their weapons.

"Sorry about busting up your sister." Yang apologized with a cough. "That last hit might have been a bit hard."

"I wouldn't worry too much." Weiss replied. "Just because she's smart, it doesn't mean her skull isn't thicker than yours."

Yang smiled and opened her arms, releasing Blake. "Come here."

Weiss hesitated, but then Ruby pushed her forwards into Yang's arms. The hug was crushing, but it somehow felt comforting. Weiss returned the hug after a moment and then felt Ruby and Blake join in.

"We're your family now." Yang spoke to Weiss. "We'll never force you to do anything you don't want to."

"We won't let you get married either. Unless it's what you want." Ruby added.

Blake nodded in agreement to the other's comments. "Let's go back inside. Yang can rest and we'll get back to work."

"Right." Weiss agreed. She turned and kept one arm wrapped behind Yang as she helped Blake carefully carry her into the building, Ruby walking behind them carrying her sister's gauntlets.

They entered their dorm and placed Yang down on Blake's bed. Yang sighed as she got comfortable, her exhaustion already pulling her to sleep.

"Just go do your thing, I'll let you know when I get up." Yang waved. Ruby and Blake left the room and Weiss hesitated by the door when Yang's wave stopped and she held up a finger. "Hold on a sec!"

"Me?" Weiss asked, still a little surprised by the day's events.

"No, I'm talking to your shadow." Yang rolled her eyes as Weiss came walking back to her bedside.

"Winter said that the way out of the contract was to dump Ruby and move back home. She said stuff about tutors and getting married when you were twenty one." Yang said even as exhaustion pulled at her eyelids. "What are you going to do?"

Weiss paused at the new information. Naturally, she'd have to check it, but she found that the solution was a strong possibility. There was just one problem. "I'm not leaving Ruby, so I'll have to find another way."

"Good to hear." Yang sighed. "Let me know if I can do anything, okay?"

"You've already done enough." Weiss replied. It was still a shock for her to see Yang so defeated after a battle. "Thank you."

Yang smiled and laughed. The laughter turned into a cough almost immediately and Yang sighed as she settled herself back to the bed. "What are big sisters for?"

Weiss left as Yang started snoring, the feeling in her chest the sum of all the emotions that had been swirling around inside her for the last week. Now, she had a reason to work twice as hard to void that damned contract. She had definitely found a new family. _Big sisters, indeed._


	54. Chapter 54

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone, just wanted to say sorry (not sorry) about the email spam if you have your notifications on. I promise I (probably) won't do that again with this story, so just... enjoy!**

* * *

*Bzzt*

Weiss looked away from the paper she was currently reading to look at her scroll.

_Your sister has woken. She has asked to see you._

Weiss looked at who had sent the message and found it had been sent from the headmaster. She sighed and decided it would be rude not to reply.

_I do not wish to see her at the moment, I have more pressing issues to attend to._

She sent the message off and returned to her work. Ruby and Blake had gone back to the dorm an hour ago, and that meant she was the last one awake and still poring over the contract. It was Friday night, so she knew she had the entire next day, but she could at least attempt to work through a few of the situations she'd created. She didn't have much hope, but now that the entire contract had been mapped out, it was much easier to discard theories on how to get out of the stupid thing. If only she wasn't seventeen, if only she was in an accident that prevented her from having children. If only… if only…

Weiss's head snapped back up off the desk as she realized she'd dozed off. It was already close to twelve at night and she'd been up early that morning to do the homework she'd neglected in favor of the contract work she'd been prioritizing.

She looked over at her scroll to find a new message from the headmaster that had come some time after she'd replied to his first message. The time-stamp read half an hour previous.

_She'd like to speak to you about that. I feel it would be in your best interest to at least hear what she has to say._

Weiss sighed as she rose to her feet. She stood in front of the desk for a moment, gathering her bearings as she tried to decide whether to just go back to the dorm, or visit her sister in the infirmary first. On one hand, she'd tried to kill Yang, and get her and Ruby separated, but on the other she was still family and she'd been trying to use the only loophole that the contract had even though it didn't necessarily guarantee anything. It was simply the best shot she could find and Weiss understood why she'd tried so desperately to make it work.

Weiss sighed again as she clicked the projector's light function off. She left her work as it was, nobody would disturb it and she decided she'd at least give her sister a single chance to apologize, though she wasn't even sure if she could accept an apology considering Ruby had been wronged as well. But most importantly, it was Yang that needed to make peace with Winter.

Weiss hated the feeling of being in the middle of a fight, but realized it was probably good practice if she was going to continue dating Ruby. Eventually her father would understand that it wasn't some phase and try to do something about it. At least the assassins would be much easier to deal with in comparison to the clouds of tension that now seemed to float along with any talk of her family and Ruby's. She shuddered to think what would happen if her father and Qrow were left in a room together.

Weiss entered the infirmary and found the room that had been mentioned by the headmaster. She sighed as she found her sister under a reading light as she looked down at her scroll smiling weakly.

"Alright, I'm here. What do you want?" Weiss asked, choosing to stand rather than take a seat. She didn't intend to stay long anyways.

"What, no 'hi, how's it going?'" Winter asked sarcastically from her bed as she hissed in pain while she tried to sit up a bit more on the inclined back. Weiss didn't reply and Winter closed her eyes and nodded in acceptance. "It's fine, I get it. I screwed up and I deserve whatever you decide about our relationship going forward. I'd hate me too."

"If you think that's going to solve anything, you're more of an idiot than I thought you were." Weiss huffed and took a seat. Winter was trying, so she'd humor her for the moment. She knew that after this night, she might not see or talk to her sister for a very long time. And she felt it was her duty to at least close the loose ends so they both understood where their relationship stood.

"Heh…" Winter grinned, but didn't laugh. It wasn't a very joyous atmosphere. "Probably more so than that, even…"

Weiss watched Winter for a minute, her scroll buzzed and she glanced at it before she smiled and dropped it beside her so the light was swallowed by the bed.

"Well, I guess I should tell you why I really called you here." Winter spoke and Weiss felt a nervous bead of sweat slide down her forehead as she realized too late that this might have been a trap that she willingly walked into. Winter seemed to notice the suddenly alert movement of Weiss's eyes and the stillness of her body as she listened for any noise from the hallway. "Don't worry, I only asked one of your friends to come by when they were done with an errand. I'm not expecting anyone else tonight."

"Right." Weiss relaxed just slightly. She didn't completely trust her sister at the moment, but she really wanted to.

"I'll start with the contract." Winter sighed tiredly. "There's no out. Don't bother looking."

"What? But-" Weiss was interrupted by Winter's glare.

"Unlike you, I've been looking at that thing for the past year while our father was working on it." Winter's voice grew stronger the longer she talked. "Every time there was a possibility of escape, he'd close it in another addition. When I looked at the bigger picture, it was surprisingly concrete. The only way you could void it is if you left Beacon and returned home. In that case, the activation would be delayed until your twenty first birthday."

"If you're trying to get me to give up, then I think we're done here." Weiss said as she made to get up from the chair.

"Wait!" Winter's hand flew out and then she wheezed as the pain in her body came back. "Don't go… there's something… something else…"

"What is it? I don't have all night." Weiss responded harshly. Whether it was the knowledge that she was fighting an impossible battle had finally hit home, or because she was witnessing her relationship with Winter falling apart after it had been ripped so badly, she couldn't tell which was the greater fuel for her anger.

Winter coughed and calmed down as she lay still. "You're getting picked up on Monday."

"What?" Weiss's legs turned to water and she sunk into the chair in disbelief. "But the ceremony is only scheduled for Wednesday!"

"I know… my guess is it's so you'll get to know the groom." Winter spoke and Weiss noticed a small ounce of distaste in her tone. "But there's one other thing that is your last chance, that the contract doesn't take into account. And the best part is, if you pull it off, you'll be free no matter which kingdom you visit."

Weiss looked at her sister in shock. "W-what is it? How? What do I do?"

Winter smiled as a knock sounded on the door and Winter pressed the button on her bed to open it.

"You get hitched." Yang said simply as she walked in with a thick, ancient-looking leather-bound text book in her hand.


	55. Chapter 55

"I get… what?" Weiss asked in shock, more at seeing Yang enter her sister's room than her words that were still processing.

"You get married." Winter replied.

"I'm sorry, but you can probably see how GETTING MARRIED isn't a great way to NOT GET MARRIED!" Weiss almost yelled.

"Hold up, Princess." Yang placed her hand on Weiss's shoulder as she was about to get up. "And before you say anything, I'm sorry."

Weiss blinked in surprise at Yang's apology for the nickname and then sighed in defeat. She waved her hand to tell the two older sisters to go on and explain their reasoning.

"Okay, so you can't get out of marriage. That much is solid according to Winter, but there is a slight hiccup." Yang started.

"The part at the end, right after you say your vows, there is a part where the officiator will ask if there are any objections. Unfortunately, since you are technically a minor until you sign the marriage certificate, you can't raise your own objection without the authority of your head of household. In this case it would be Father." Winter said and stopped.

"But here's the thing, if you can get me in to the wedding, I _can_ raise an objection." Yang said with a grin. "Then I'll get to have some fun with the bastard you're set up with."

"Why?" Weiss asked, noticing the glare in Yang's eyes and her tone of voice. It was the same one she'd seen before all of Yang's fights. It was looking for blood.

"Because according to Mystral tradition, the groom has the right to dismiss any and all objections by winning a duel with the strongest of the objectors." Winter explained. "There have been records of weddings postponed months if not years just because of objections that numbered in the hundreds of thousands, which resulted in a massive fights at the Coliseum. You've no doubt heard of Red Sunday."

Weiss felt a grin appear on her face. And then the look Yang gave her wiped it off.

"There's just one more problem with that solution." Yang stated sourly.

"The winner of the duel gains full rights to marriage, but if the winner backs down, you'll be married to the original suitor without exception." Winter stated. "Since you're a minor, you don't have a say, and since our father gave his initial permission for the wedding, there's nothing he can do if you accept the proposal from anyone else. In that way, there's absolutely no way to get out of your marriage."

Weiss sank in her chair. So she'd be getting married to the winner of a duel, or she'd be getting married to close a business deal. Whichever way she chose, it wasn't what she wanted.

"What do you want to do?" Winter asked quietly, and Weiss felt that brief wave of freedom wash over her once more as an idea entered her head.

"Weiss?" Yang asked, concerned at the small grin forming on her face the longer she thought her idea through.

"It's so simple… I can't believe we went through all this stupidity when I could have been planning!" She mumbled in disbelief as she looked up to Yang and then at her sister.

"Winter, I'll need your help to coordinate this and keep it quiet. Can I trust you?" Weiss asked hopefully.

Winter looked at her sister dead in the eye and nodded slowly. "Whatever it is, even if you can't tell me the details, I'll do it. I'm your sister, and I love you Weiss. I only want you to get your chance to be happy. Not to mention that I'd prefer it if we could still be friends."

"Sure got a way of showing it." Yang laughed as she looked down at the injured woman.

"Well, I'll admit that this was my shortsightedness." Winter conceded. "Our father has been a fairly bad influence on this topic."

"Alright Winter, I won't forget but I suppose I could forgive you. I need you to be on my side in this…. But, in any case, Yang?" Weiss turned to her teammate. She guessed she'd have more than enough time to talk to her sister later and she needed to get this wrapped up.

"What's up?" Yang smiled nervously. She didn't know what Weiss was thinking, but she hoped it wasn't what she'd been able to pick out from the conversation thus far.

"Would you give me your…" Weiss hesitated and took a deep breath. Yang took a step back, afraid the question she was expecting was about to come out of the heiress's mouth. "Would you give me your blessing? To marry Ruby?"

Yang sighed internally and moved back to where she'd been before. Then what Weiss had asked clicked.

"But she's even younger than you! How is she supposed to object and win the duel?" Yang asked in confusion.

"Not to mention, there's no way she'll be allowed anywhere near the church." Winter added.

"I know I should be asking your father, but I don't have much time left." Weiss said quickly, ignoring the objections. "Do I have your blessing if I can pull it off?"

"Uh sure, I mean I guess so. But she's the one who has to agree to it." Yang shrugged. "But isn't this a little… quick?"

"Yes, I know. But I already know I'll never willingly leave her. I need her desperately, it seems." Weiss stood and pulled her scroll from her pocket. "The only question is if Ruby feels the same way."

Yang watched Weiss flip her fingers across the device quickly for a few minutes before slowly nodding. "Then you've got me on board. I'll fill Dad in later."

"Okay, thank you." Weiss nodded as she turned and started walking out. "First things first, then. I need a ring, and I need cookies. Lots of cookies."

"Hey, don't go bribing her!" Yang called after Weiss but she'd already left the room.

"Relax, she's got a plan." Winter told Yang and gestured at the chair. "If you want, I'll tell you how I think she's going to pull this off."

"I got time to kill, why not?" Yang shrugged and sat down. "And if she pulls this off, you know we'll be actual sisters, right?"

Winter smiled. "Somehow, I think we'll get along just fine. My parents on the other hand…"

"And my Uncle hates your family's guts. Except he seems to think Weiss is okay." Yang supplied. "Just saying…"

"I suppose we wouldn't be a real family if we didn't fight." Winter sighed.

"Wouldn't be hunters if we didn't use our weapons." Yang added with a slight grin.

Winter closed her eyes for a moment. "We're going to have a lot of trouble after all this is over."

"Yup." Yang agreed with a grin. "But it wouldn't be much fun if it wasn't."

"I agree. But at least our fight is out of the way early. But this is what I think Weiss plans to do." Winter opened her eyes again and started the long explanation of what she thought her younger sister was planning. By the time she finished, Yang was grinning ear to ear.

Yang started laughing as she got up to leave the room. "If that's really her plan, it's crazy. But it just might work. And remember to return that book before you leave or I'll send you the bill… _sister_."

"Naturally, _sister_." Winter replied with a laugh, looking over at the massive old tome. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.


	56. Chapter 56

"Where'd Weiss go again?" Ruby asked for the eighth time that day.

"To Vale, Ruby." Yang replied.

"And why didn't she tell me herself?" She asked also for the eighth time that day.

"Because it was sort of sudden." Yang replied. "She said she forgot her scroll in our room and didn't have time to go grab it."

"O-kay…" Ruby turned away from Yang in frustration. As her sister, she knew when the blond was lying somewhere in her story, but what part of the story she was lying about she couldn't tell. Or maybe she was lying about the whole thing but Yang had the story fairly well done in comparison to the usual mess. The problem was, Yang was honest whenever she asked any other questions about specifics, meaning she could also be just as clueless as she was.

It was Saturday, and that meant they only had four days to crack the contract. One of which was apparently going to waste since Weiss was off shopping or whatever it was that she was doing in the city. But Ruby wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Blake, can you help me after class again?" Ruby asked as they headed to lunch.

"I already told you I would." Blake replied from behind a new book.

Ruby nodded more to herself than anything as her mind wandered desperately through the dozens of clauses she'd memorized as well as those she could recall hearing about from the others. Ruby knew there had to be a way out somewhere in that mess of a contract, but where that out was, she could only guess.

"Where are you going?" Yang called from somewhere far behind her and she spun. Yang was standing by the door to the cafeteria and Blake was beside her. Ruby looked around and found that she'd walked right past as if she was on the way to Winter's room.

"Actually, I'm not feeling well." Ruby lied. "I'm going to take the afternoon off, so I'll see you later."

"Bye." Blake waved and walked past Yang into the cafeteria.

"Hey!" Yang called but Ruby was already gone, her semblance leaving a trail of rose petals as she fled. "RUBY!"

"I have doubts that your sister can hear you at the moment." A voice spoke suddenly.

Yang spun to find herself facing the headmaster of the school. "Oh, sorry."

"No need to apologize, but perhaps I came at an opportune moment." Ozpin mused. "After all the damage you did to the faculty's office, I found myself wondering what made you throw your teammate's older sister so hard?"

"Uh… we had a bit of a fight." Yang explained, wondering not if she was in trouble, but how much trouble she was in.

"That much I managed to fit together, oddly enough." Ozpin replied with a smirk. "How is she doing?"

"She's fine, and we've managed to come to an understanding." Yang played it off with a wave of dismissal.

"I'm glad to hear it." Ozpin nodded, prying no further. "So in the case of your sister… I believe the person she needs right now isn't the one she thinks she does."

"Um…" Yang hesitated, confused at the headmaster's statement. She thought and then it clicked. "Right!"

"Then I'll take my leave and ask that you try to leave this school in the state you found it in." Ozpin smiled as he continued into the cafeteria. "Though I won't hold my breath."

Yang spun to see the very last of Ruby's rose petals blow along the hall as the ventilation swept them along. She started walking again, but soon found the trail go cold where Ruby had obviously decided to move at a more human pace.

Yang thought of all the places she would be and only two popped into her head as likely. Their dorm or Winter's dorm. Yang knew Winter was being transferred out of the school and into the care of her family at any minute now, and hoped that she'd keep her silence at least long enough for Weiss to do her thing.

They'd ended up speaking to each other far into the morning about their respective sisters as a way of bonding. Yang had found out about some pretty interesting stories from when Weiss was first learning fencing or when she'd get a new dress. In the process, Yang was able to gauge how Winter saw her sister, and how much she cared for her. In return, Yang had talked about Ruby's childhood and the things she used to do. In some ways, Winter seemed shocked about some of the things they'd done but Yang was quick to point out that they weren't supervised the entire time.

In the end, Winter seemed to accept Yang as a fellow big sister if nothing else, and Yang couldn't complain one bit. They'd already told each other how far they'd go for their siblings in the form of a fight, and now had an understanding that they'd work to make them both happy as long as they made each other happy. Yang couldn't argue with that logic, so they found themselves working for the same goal. At least for the time being.

Yang snapped out of her thoughts as she opened her own dorm. No Ruby. Yang suddenly had a bad feeling as she saw a shadow flit past the window. She snapped her gauntlets on her arms and rushed out of the room and up to Winter's.

As she climbed the stairs the sound of a large explosion echoed from above, ripping through the building and shaking the dust free from the ceiling. She came out on the top floor and heard several gunshots from farther down the hall.

She burst in the closed door of Winter's room just after another shot sounded loudly from the other side. The door frame shattered, sending wood splinters into the scene in front of her as it came into focus. Ruby seemed frozen in shock as half of the roof and far wall seemed to have been blown out behind her. But the real focus wasn't the hole in the wall or Ruby. It was the lone bullet frozen in ice that was plucked out of the air by none other than Weiss Schnee and then thrown from the building.

Weiss looked from Ruby to her sister and then to the fourth person in the room. She could be fairly certain it was an assassin hired by her father. His whole body was currently encased in a thick, frosted layer of ice from her rapier that she'd just managed to use right as he pulled the trigger. A millisecond later and Weiss didn't want to think of what might have resulted from the delay.

She tossed the bullet out the window and bent down beside Ruby who looked up at her. The fear still evident in her eyes.

Yang watched their lips meet, the feeling of unease that had been present at her house over the holidays remained, but now she found she was more happy than anything that Ruby and Weiss were partners.

"Sorry I took so long." Yang spoke up once their kiss seemed to start heating up, interrupting them. "Weiss, does this guy mean anything to you?"

"No, why should he?" Weiss asked indifferently.

"Great. Because he tried to shoot Ruby." Yang cracked her neck as she tried to keep her anger in check. "He's going to hope he doesn't thaw before Ozpin gets here."

Weiss simply nodded as a slight cracking noise rang out in the room, making Yang spin towards the encased assassin. Weiss dove to cover Ruby as the ice around the man's wrist started to break and another shot shattered the remaining ice off his weapon. Yang unleashed a powerful punch at the center of the block of ice, preventing another shot from ringing out as the gun was dropped. The man cracked into pieces at the hard impact while he was mostly frozen and Yang looked down at the red liquid that slowly spilled from the pile of ice and blinked. "Didn't see that coming."

"Nice, Yang. What did you think would happen?" Weiss scoffed as she passed to the door with a bag Yang hadn't noticed before. "Actually, never mind. Just know that I am definitely not cleaning that up. I'll see you later Ruby, I still have a few things to take care of and I'll meet you back at the dorm."

"Sure thing, Princess." Yang saluted as she left. Yang turned to a still slightly shell shocked Ruby. "How you doing sis?"

Ruby seemed to finally take notice of Yang and the otherwise empty room and that's when it happened. All the stress from the contract and the lingering shock from the assassination attempt doing what very few things had the power to do. The one thing Yang hated more than anything else. Ruby started crying.


	57. Chapter 57

"Hey! Shh…" Yang pulled Ruby into her arms. There was nothing she could do other than that and she hated it more than she hated the guy she'd reduced to rubble behind her.

But with Ruby's tears coming full force, there was nothing to do but wait as she cried herself out. Several minutes passed while Yang gently ran her fingers through Ruby's hair and let her soak her shirt with her tears. Finally it seemed as if Ruby was starting to run dry.

"There you go." Yang spoke softly. "I know this whole thing is stressful."

"Got that right." Ruby croaked between sobs as she buried her face into Yang's shirt.

"Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm listening." Yang said and continued her comforting routine.

It was several minutes more before Ruby stopped her crying, but she didn't leave Yang's embrace or make any movements to do so.

"Am I the only one that cares about getting Weiss out of her marriage?" Ruby asked desperately. "I mean JNPR quit, you never tried, Blake's been a big help but I'm sure she'd rather be reading her book, and even Weiss ditched today to go to the city."

Yang remained silent. She couldn't really contradict Ruby without letting one important cat out of its bag. And she knew that Weiss would never forgive her if she did, so she remained silent.

"I can't live without her, Yang." Ruby said seriously. "I know it's been only a few weeks since we've gotten together, and only months since we met, but she's going somewhere I can't reach. It's just like mom all over again"

Ruby broke down into even more tears. And Yang started finger brushing her hair once more. She leaned her head down and planted a kiss onto the part of Ruby's hair. Ruby started to calm down again as Yang kept her lips there, where they'd once rested when she broke her favorite toy, and again when Ruby's mother had died. Now she was suffering a broken heart at the hands of the threat on her relationship.

"Is she really worth everything you're putting yourself through?" Yang asked gently. It wasn't often anymore that she could be the one to help Ruby get back to her life, but that didn't mean she'd forgotten how to replace the sadness with hope. "Do you love her that much?"

"So, so much." Ruby cried into Yang's shirt, still nowhere near done crying.

"Then it's okay." Yang whispered as she waited for Ruby's sobs to quiet. "I promise it's all going to be okay."

"How can you? You can't do anything!" Ruby almost yelled into her shirt. It was muffled by Ruby's crying, but she could make out ever word.

"Hey now…" Yang pulled Ruby away from her shirt. Ruby wiped at her face with her sleeves as Yang watched her. "Remember that I'm your big sister. I can do anything I want, and I'm not going to let Weiss get married to some rich asshole!"

Ruby cracked a smile at Yang's forceful swear. She looked up into Yang's eyes with her watery ones. "You really promise you won't let them take Weiss?"

"Damn straight I won't let them take her!" Yang placed her forehead against Ruby's so their eyes were only an inch apart. "Because I want you to be happy all the time, and that can't happen if she's not here. Can it?"

Ruby nodded and Yang let her pull her into a hug.

"Don't worry Ruby, just let me take care of this whole thing from here on out." Yang said to another nod from her sister. "I've got an ace up my sleeve and so does Weiss. We'll get through this together, as a family."

"Okay." Ruby acknowledged Yang's promise and fell silent.

The two remained there until the bell that signaled the end of lunch. Neither returned to classes that day as they found themselves cuddling together in Yang's bunk like when they were kids. Yang felt Ruby's slowed breathing as she thought over the explanation Winter had given. If Weiss's plan was even remotely similar, there was nothing to be afraid of. Everything would work out. The only question was how big the coming fight would be.


	58. Chapter 58

"You're definitely not okay." Blake stated as Weiss rushed around inside the dormitory kitchen.

"I told you I am, now if you're not going to help, leave." Weiss replied as she sifted flour into the fourth bowl of batter she'd made.

"I'm not going anywhere until you stop and breathe." Blake replied. "Yang's keeping Ruby from totally losing it, so it's my job to make sure you don't either."

"Nobody asked you to become my psychiatrist." Weiss spat venomously. "And if I wasn't doing fine, would I be baking the girl I love cookies?"

"I'm not quite sure where your definition of baking ends and manufacturing begins." Blake stated mockingly. "I mean, one batch, sure. But this is number four and you have enough ingredients to eventually hit fifty or more if you don't stop."

Weiss paused as she was about to crack an egg into a second bowl. What was she even doing?

"I don't know."

Blake remained silent as she watched Weiss look up at her.

"God! I have no idea what I'm doing!" Weiss wailed and spun, taking in the chaos around her. Eight pristine baking sheets filled with freshly baked cookies sat on the counter behind her, not a single one of the entire lot was burnt and she was still holding a spoon. A spoon she'd been about to make yet another new batch with.

She turned back to Blake, her eyes wild as they looked for something that would give her a hint. Evidently, none came and she started to clean up the unmixed ingredients with shaky hands as her mouth mumbled silently.

Blake watched her for a moment, not quite sure what to do until she watched Weiss raise a bowl of sugar to the box of salt. Blake jumped up and caught her wrist before she could tip the bowl and took it from her hands, placing it and the box back on the counter and returning to hold Weiss by her wrists.

"I think you need to just stop for a moment." She advised, rubbing her thumb over Weiss's wrist the way she'd seen Ruby do occasionally when Weiss started getting really worked up. Surprisingly to Blake, the trick worked and Weiss shook her head and nodded before she let Blake lead her over to a bench seat along the wall.

The two sat down and Blake watched Weiss who now looked as if all her energy had just been taken out of her.

"I really have no idea what I'm doing anymore…" Weiss spoke in barely a whisper, but Blake had no trouble hearing with her naturally enhanced sense of hearing.

"If I were to guess, I'd say you're going a bit overboard with the pastries." Blake joked, getting a quick glare from Weiss before her face mellowed out again as she let it go. "Seriously though, what happened? You've been off ever since you came back to the dorm. Even Yang's picked up on it and she can be blinder than most when it comes to you."

"Actually, Yang's the one who… never mind." Weiss shook her head to Blake's look of surprise. "It's a long story, and it doesn't matter. What does is that the contract isn't breakable."

"I'm sorry to hear." Blake stated honestly. "So what do we do now?"

"I've already asked Yang's permission, I'm marrying Ruby." Weiss stated, but her conviction wasn't there. Blake instantly knew what the problem was, and it wasn't anything she would ever have guessed. Weiss was unsure, and that was sending her into a panic.

"Hey, I know everything will work out. But maybe you could use a little help." Blake smiled supportively at Weiss as she looked up into her face. "Let's start small, okay? When are you asking her?"

"Tomorrow." Weiss's voice was still small, but she at least sounded resolved in her decision.

"Good, now what was your plan? Set the mood and ask? Or just spring it up out of nowhere?" Blake asked, knowing the answer, but needing Weiss to get back to her normal self.

"Of course I'm planning to set the mood!" Weiss replied, sounding offended, but mostly back to her old self.

"Good, just had to check you were still in there." Blake joked, this time earning her a frown of disapproval. Weiss was back, and that meant they could move on to the business at hand. "So what was it you were thinking?"

"I wanted to set up the dorm and surprise her after lunch?" Weiss stated, though it sounded much more like a question than an answer.

"Okay, now I'm just guessing this because even I know you well enough…" Blake started, testing the waters to see if Weiss would stop her. When she didn't Blake continued. "You were planning on Yang and myself keeping Ruby busy while you set up."

"You would be correct." Weiss nodded.

"It won't work." Blake stated simply with a shrug.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked as if she thought she'd missed something.

"You left Ruby alone today, which means by the time you get back to the room she's not going to leave your side. Not to mention that she probably doesn't know that the contract is solid yet." Blake said. "At this point, she's probably getting more than a little stressed which hopefully Yang is dealing with for now."

"Not to mention almost being assassinated by one of my father's goons." Weiss stated sullenly.

"Wait, what?" Blake couldn't help but think she'd heard wrong.

"I was coming back and saw someone on the roofs of the dorm looking down where Winter's room was." Weiss quickly rehashed the events that took place earlier that day. "I guess he thought he could get two birds with one stone and only made his entrance when I'd gotten to the roof. I was only lucky I managed to freeze him and his shot before it hit Ruby."

"I see. I'm sure Yang must have been furious." Blake stated, thinking of her partner almost witnessing her sister getting shot.

"She shattered him and seemed to feel better afterward." Weiss shrugged. "But enough of that, how am I going to set up for this if Ruby won't leave me alone for a moment?"

"I do have one idea, but I'm not sure you're going to like it." Blake said with a slight grin.

"There are a great many things I don't like as of late." Weiss sighed and waved her hand in a circle as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with her other hand. "Let's hear it then."

"So this is what we do…" Blake smiled at Weiss's willingness to at least hear the idea. As Blake finished, the nodding head of her teammate told her just how mentally drained she was from all the stress of the last week.

"Why not? And if it doesn't work, then I'll just take her for a walk by the crater where we met." Weiss said. "Actually, I just thought of something even better! I'll still need you to help with the first part though."

"You sound like you're feeling better." Blake commented slyly.

"Hush!" Weiss said indignantly, but she couldn't hide the large smile on her lips. "I have a plan, so now I just need to put it in motion."

"Alright, I'll make sure Yang knows her part." Blake replied as she stood with her teammate. Together, they cleaned up the kitchen and packaged the cookies. Blake took them to her locker for storage and then they returned to the room. Inside, Yang and Ruby were just waking up from their nap. And as Blake had predicted, Weiss had Ruby hanging off her arm for the rest of the day that was spent watching downloaded movies as a team while they destressed from the past few days.


	59. Chapter 59

"Alright, so when I give you a salute…" Blake said as she walked with Yang. Together, they were coming back to the cafeteria from the washroom and were about to meet back up with Ruby and Weiss so the latter could enact the second phase of her master plan.

"I know, I know." Yang sighed. "I _accidentally_ fire an explosive round at the table of second years."

"They'll get mad and you pretend to clam up. I'll get Ruby to help and while she's playing peacekeeper, Weiss will slip away under the guise of remembering a forgotten text book." Blake summed up.

"There are a lot of ifs in there, you know?" Yang asked as they entered the cafeteria.

"Not as many as you'd think." Blake replied before they split ways to sit across from each other with their teammates and JNPR.

"Sorry for taking so long." Yang said to the table.

"It's not a problem, we weren't doing too much anyway." Jaune replied as he moved his piece around the board. "Do you want back in?"

"Nah, my gauntlet has been a little off since my fight with Winter." Yang replied. "I'm going to see what might be wrong."

"Suit yourself." Jaune shrugged. He'd taken over from Yang and had been on a roll, so it didn't matter much. "Your turn Weiss."

"Very well." Weiss rolled the dice and moved her piece.

"Aww, that was my last one!" Nora whined as Weiss took her piece out of play and returned it home.

"Just get it out again, then." Ren advised and she took the dice to give it a try.

"So you used to play this when you were a kid?" Ruby asked Weiss.

"Yeah, at least until my father invested in trick dice to ensure the servants always lost." Weiss sighed. "If I wanted to win a game of chance all the time, I'd have played the stupid computer versions."

"That's a little messed up, eh Princess?" Yang asked.

"Well, you should know messed up when you see it, shouldn't you?" Weiss replied.

"And Yang just got burned!" Nora laughed.

"Freezer burned!" Yang jumped back in, even being the butt of the joke.

Weiss simply shook her head in defeat as the rest of the table started laughing and shaking their heads with similar feelings.

Blake saw who she was waiting for arrive at the second year's table and gave Yang a quick and inconspicuous salute under the guise of brushing her hair away from her eyes.

Yang fiddled with her gauntlet for a moment and a sudden bang made everyone at the table look at Yang and the arcing dust round that was flying through the air as if in slow motion.

It came down perfectly in the center of the second year table, shattering it and sending all the food flying in every direction. But the one person still standing had it worse off than her friends.

Coco wiped the food from her face with the back of her sleeve and her eyes met Yang's apologetic ones across the room.

The entire room seemed to sense the tension and held its silence as Coco slowly walked out and around her table. She crossed the room and stopped in front of Yang.

"You do realize this was my favorite shirt, right?" She asked, clearly not impressed with Yang. Behind her, her teammates and other classmates all gathered around.

"Um…" Yang hesitated. Normally she'd apologize straight off, but she knew Ruby needed to intervene before she could do anything.

"What? Nothing to say?" Coco asked, her temper clearly rising at Yang's lack of response.

"Please just say sorry, and she'll leave you alone." Velvet beseeched them.

"So tough that you can send a person through a wall fifty meters away, but not tough enough to admit you made a mistake?" Coco yelled at Yang, bending so she was right in her face.

"Uh…" Yang glanced over at her sister who finally moved into action.

"Hey Coco, can you just give her a little space?" Ruby asked, waving her hands placatingly as she squeezed herself between Yang and the second year. "I'm sure she'll apologize and make up for it, won't you Yang?"

Yang felt the glare Ruby gave her and noticed Weiss slip away in her peripherals. Now it was up to her and Blake to keep Ruby company for the next five minutes.

"Y-yeah…" Yang nodded. She stopped talking to drag out the time as Coco and the group watched her patiently. Ruby was giving her a look that she must have learned off Weiss as Yang felt uneasy under the glare she was subjected to.

"Any time now would be nice!" Coco said impatiently. "I'm hungry and I just got back from a mission. And now I have to go change before class."

"Right, sorry." Yang nodded quickly, she'd wasted a few minutes and they could surely waste a few more before Ruby went off to find Weiss. "That was my bad… I'll get you all another lunch."

"Alright, we'll wait at the table then." Coco said and turned to leave. She stopped after a few steps and turned back. "And don't do that again. You have access to a workshop for a reason."

"Right, ha ha." Yang rubbed the back of her head. She wasn't really embarrassed, but she had to play the part. Coco turned and the group returned to their seats. The noise returned to normal and Ruby found Weiss was missing.

"Where'd she go?" Ruby asked Blake who simply shrugged as she was reading her book again.

"Hey, Ruby? Can you give me a hand?" Yang called her before she decided to run off and start looking.

"Huh?" Ruby turned back and Yang pointed up at the line. "Fine, but then I'm going to look for Weiss."

"Oh, she mentioned something about a textbook from the other day." Pyrrha spoke up quickly. "She said she should be back in a few minutes, and otherwise she'd send you a message."

"Alright, thanks!" Ruby smiled, less concerned now that Weiss hadn't run away like she did the previous day.

It took ten minutes and all the lien Yang had on her to replace the lunches of the second years, but Weiss had promised her a reimbursement for the distraction. Now all they had to do was wait for Weiss to send them the message.

Turns out they didn't wait long. Yang had just arrived back at the table when Ruby pulled her scroll out.

"Oh, Weiss said she took too long so she's just meeting us back at the dorm." Ruby said.

"Alright, let's go back then." Yang wrapped her arm around Ruby's neck, pulling her back and continuing in a baby voice. "Because I know my baby sister can't live without her Weiss!"

"Yang…" Ruby whined to the group's general laughter.

"Alright, we'll see you later then!" Yang waved as Blake got up to follow.

The three walked back to the dorm together and Yang pretended she'd forgotten her key.

"Come on, that's the fourth time since we got back!" Ruby complained as she fished hers out of her pocket. "You seriously have to start remembering it and also to take the ammo out before you start working!"

Yang saluted her sister's orders mockingly as Ruby inserted her key and turned the knob.

She glared at Yang as she walked in and as soon as she was out of sight, Yang shared a smile with Blake.

"Oh my GOD!" Ruby's scream was heard loud and clear all the way down the hall.


	60. Chapter 60

"Oh my GOD!" Ruby screamed from inside the room. "Thank you Weiss!"

"I'm glad you like it Ruby." Weiss spoke calmly and confidently.

Yang and Blake came around the corner and into the room to witness the sweet scene before them.

Ruby was bouncing excitedly while she held onto a nervous looking Weiss. But whatever Yang or Blake saw in Weiss, Ruby was blinded. Mostly with the large dome of cookies set up on the portable table in the center of the room, sugar frosting that seemed to have been a last minute addition saying thank you to Ruby.

"Nice one, Weiss." Yang grinned with a wink. Weiss nodded slightly in response and Ruby finally released her.

"But what did I do?" Ruby asked in confusion, finally taking in the wording on the icing as she picked one up. Yang and Blake returned to their bunks to watch their teammates.

"You helped me with the contract." Weiss said nervously. This time, Ruby picked up on the emotion.

"But we haven't cracked it yet." Ruby said in confusion. "You said we were going to work on it after lunch."

"Actually… we're not." Weiss said while releasing a breath.

"What do you mean we're not?" Ruby asked in shock. "We have to get you out of your contract."

"That's not going to happen." Weiss sighed. "I talked to Winter before she left the other day and it's just not possible. That's why I had to go to Vale. I needed to find out a few things that required the national archives."

"But-" Ruby started to object but Weiss silenced her with a kiss.

"There's other ways to deal with it. Don't worry." Weiss said smiling. Ruby nodded and mirrored her slight smile. "Now since it's actually not a bad day, wanna go for a walk?"

"Sure, I've already got my cloak." Ruby snatched a cookie off the top of the dome and stuffed it into her mouth before snatching a second one. "And now I have travel snacks!"

Weiss laughed as she took her jacket and followed Ruby from the room. "Just so you know, you shouldn't eat them all in one day."

"But what's the fun in that?" Ruby replied with a giggle.

"Knowing you, avoiding the crash from the sugar rush." Weiss replied simply. Ruby thought for a moment and shrugged before tossing the second cookie into her mouth.

"Alright so where to, Snowflake?" Ruby asked as she threaded her fingers through Weiss's.

Weiss pulled Ruby close and surprised her with a quick peck to her lips. "I had a certain, special place in mind."

Ruby smiled and returned the peck before they fell into a comfortable silence. They walked slowly through the halls as neither had classes later that day. Weiss ignored the few stares that were still watching the two go hand in hand as she took comfort from the presence of the younger girl. Ruby seemed to be happy just spending time with Weiss as they seemingly wandered aimlessly through the halls of Beacon.

Eventually the two walked out of the building and started trekking through the snow that was only a few inches deep that coated the ground that hadn't been shoveled.

"So where are we going?" Ruby couldn't help but ask as they continued wandering around one of the many buildings.

"Do you have something else you wanted to do?" Weiss asked, getting more nervous with every step she took towards her goal.

"Nope!" Ruby popped the end of the word playfully. "Just wondering."

Weiss nodded as she took yet another deep breath to calm her ever-active nerves. She led Ruby around the corner of the building and back onto another path that led to the airship landing that had been used to bring all the students to beacon.

"Are we going somewhere?" Ruby asked curiously as they passed the large statue marking the entrance to Beacon. "I didn't think there were any airships today."

"There aren't." Weiss replied to a hum from Ruby. As they came within view of the cliff and the spot Weiss was aiming for, Ruby stopped for a moment. Looking up, Weiss noticed that the path ahead hadn't just been shoveled. It had been melted and dried as if there was a single spot that held the remnants of the summer with only the smallest ridge of ice marking the change from one season to the next. Weiss nudged Ruby forwards and they walked into the circle, only stopping when Weiss had positioned herself and Ruby at the exact position where they'd first met.

"I wonder if they'll ever fix the stone." Ruby wondered absently, looking down at the black scorch that permanently marked the stone beneath their feet.

"I wouldn't really want them to." Weiss replied, drawing Ruby's gaze up to her face. "We really did have a rough start, didn't we?"

"Maybe a bit." Ruby laughed awkwardly. "But I still wouldn't change anything about it. Except maybe the explosion part."

Weiss couldn't stop a smile from pulling at her lips as she took Ruby's other hand so she could occupy her free hand without fidgeting. "You know, I honestly think that if you didn't crash into my luggage and explode, I would never have even noticed you."

"Well we still would have met in the forest." Ruby pointed out.

"Yes, but I think our bad beginning is what made you try so hard to impress me." Weiss spoke while remembering the disaster that had almost befallen the girl before her. "Honestly, your work ethic was probably the first thing I admired about you."

"Really?" Ruby asked slyly. "I thought it would have been my way with words."

"I'm pretty sure I fell in love with that aspect much more recently." Weiss grinned, squeezing Ruby's hands slightly.

"So…" Ruby hesitated, knowing that Weiss had purposely taken them to this spot.

"Ruby, there's something I need to talk to you about." Weiss started.

"Wait! If this is what I think it is, then no, I don't want to hear it!" Ruby said quickly, releasing Weiss's hands and taking a step back out of the thawed circle.

"Stop!" Weiss's tone of voice stopped Ruby in her tracks before she could go more than a couple steps. "Please, I promise it's not what you're thinking…. At least I hope it's not. Is it?"

"I don't know… are you trying to break up with me again?" Ruby asked suspiciously, still keeping her distance as if she could avoid the outcome if her fears proved true.

"No, god no." Weiss exhaled the breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. Ruby returned to her and Weiss took her hands once more as she took a shaky breath realizing she was at the moment of truth.

"Is everything okay?" Ruby asked quietly, rubbing her thumbs over the backs of Weiss's hands to calm her down. "You know, other than the usual?"

"Yes, well… I guess I can only answer that depending on how this goes."

Ruby nodded in response and waited, gently caressing Weiss's hands in a way she was neither used to nor uncomfortable with. If anything, she felt that she could be happy if only Ruby could hold her hand like this for years to come.

"Okay…." Weiss took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Ruby… before I say what I want to, I just want you to know that these past few weeks I've been happier than I've been the rest of my life. And it's completely because of you."

"W-Weiss…" Ruby squeezed her hands, acknowledging the high compliment.

"Ever since we met, you've been there for me in one way or another." Weiss stated. "In the beginning I didn't realize how much I needed someone like you in my life whether it was to take out that nevermore or to strategize against that boarbatusk, or even to carry me back to the hospital after I was grievously injured in that fight with the beowolf. But then there were the times that I was having a difficult day and you cheered me up without even thinking or the times where you supported me when I couldn't stand on my own. I didn't realize it, but looking back I've needed you ever since we met, and I hope that you feel the same way because there's something very important I have to ask you."

"O-okay." Ruby found it difficult to get the words past her lips as the emotion in Weiss's voice had struck her. She knew deep down that something big was happening and she could do little more than listen and pay close attention to Weiss's words.

"Ruby, we haven't been together for very long but I love you." Weiss said quietly as she opened her eyes and looked into the silver of her partner. "I don't think that will ever change, no matter what happens, and I want you to know that. I love you and if I'm going to get married, I'd much rather be with someone as kind, intelligent, and beautiful as you. What I'm asking is… Ruby, would you be willing to spend the rest of your life with someone like me and do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?"

Ruby gasped as the words Weiss spoke sunk in and Weiss removed one of her hands to reach into a pocket on her belt. Out of it she withdrew a small blue box which she flipped open effortlessly to display a thin, yet plain silver band that shone like a mirror in the sun.

Weiss felt a slight panic as she watched tears start to stream down Ruby's face before she was engulfed in a hug that could've competed with Yang's abilities. Ruby was shaking with silent sobs as she took in quick breaths and Weiss held her tightly as she waited apprehensively for a response.

"R-Ruby-" Weiss started when she couldn't wait anymore but was immediately cut off by Ruby.

"Yes!" She choked out quietly before finding her voice. "Yes, yes, yes, yes!"

Ruby punctuated each of her continued utterances with a kiss to Weiss's neck as she slowly worked her way back up to her lips once she got there she stopped, looking Weiss in the eyes with the largest smile Weiss had ever seen.

"Yes." Ruby said quietly one last time before taking Weiss's lips in a passionate kiss.

Weiss could tell that she'd made the right decision in asking Ruby from the tender yet excited pressure of Ruby's lips against her own. Weiss felt something bubbling up inside her that she'd last felt when she was cuddling with Ruby at her house over the break and realized that she was actually happy. Even knowing the circumstances that lead up to this moment, she was still happy as she stood on the spot where she'd first met Ruby and now where Ruby answered yes. And the coming days seemed suddenly much more achievable.

The couple broke apart for air but didn't move farther than the inch needed to breathe. There was no need to be apart especially when the future was so unclear.

"Yes." Ruby breathed one last time, stealing a quick kiss from her fiance.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me." Weiss's smile faltered slightly, a fact which Ruby noticed immediately.

"What's up?" She asked, her face dropping it's smile completely. "Something's wrong."

"We need to talk but not here." Weiss looked down at the scorch mark. She'd rather keep this place and it's most recent memory happy and relatively stress free.

"Want to go back to the room?" Ruby offered, already looping her arm around Weiss's and intertwining their fingers together.

"Yes, let's do that." Weiss nodded as she collected her thoughts. "I need to finish planning my wedding."

"No, Weiss." Ruby replied in a whisper, the breath of her voice brushing warmly against Weiss's ear. "_We_ need to plan _our_ wedding. And nobody else's."

Weiss smiled at Ruby's correction. It was very rare that she was able to correct one of her statements, and the way in which she did so sent a wave of calm through Weiss helping her organize her thoughts.

"You're right. We'll do this together."


	61. Chapter 61

"Okay, so everything you'll need is in there." Weiss gave Ruby a small white binder. "Yang already knows what to do and I'll be informing Winter of her part later today or tomorrow."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Ruby asked apprehensively while she placed the binder down on the desk. "You seem really stressed out right now."

"Of course I'm stressed out! This whole plan relies on a few, very difficult to predict, variables!" Weiss sighed. "There's the reactions my father will give, the flight time to get there, and not to mention the willingness of the officiator to continue after all is said and done. Not to mention right now, I have absolutely no information about this Noir character other than the fact that he's the CEO and acting founder of his family's company."

"Take a deep breath and calm down, okay?" Ruby took Weiss into a strong but calming embrace. "Everything will work out fine, even if I have to burn the place down to stop it. Okay?"

Weiss took a deep breath and nodded into Ruby's shoulder as she returned the embrace. This was the one thing that she'd miss most about the next few days, and it was something she never quite expected.

"I…" Her voice failed before she could even say anything.

The feeling of leaving this place where she was valued and appreciated for more than her name was almost unbearable. Beacon was a place she felt like she belonged. Learning to become a huntress from teachers who didn't give preferential treatment simply because of her father's influence was something she enjoyed. Going to class with others whom she would mostly call friends was what she lived for. And her newfound family that shared the same dorm room and more specifically, that quirky huntress that had come two years early, were the very air she needed to survive. Leaving it all for a place in some ceremony she wanted absolutely no part in made her feel sick, even if she'd made a plan to remedy the situation. The fact that this situation existed in the first place was the problem.

"Do you think my father hates me?" The question sprang out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"Of course not!" Ruby's reply came quickly but it didn't help Weiss feel any better.

"If he doesn't, why is he doing all this to us?" Weiss asked as she felt a tear start to leak from her eyes. She immediately felt grateful that Blake and Yang had left them alone in the dorm for these final hours. "Why can't he just be happy for us?"

"I don't have that answer." Ruby replied, nuzzling into Weiss's neck as she led her back to the bed. "Maybe you should ask him if you get the chance."

Weiss nodded as Ruby pushed her down onto the pillow. "I'm going to miss you."

Ruby didn't reply as she moved to hover over her fiance. Weiss stared up into Ruby's face that held nothing but love as she looked down through her short hair that hung around her face. Weiss knew what would happen next but really couldn't be happier that Ruby still wanted to be involved considering all the stress and work their relationship had caused. Thinking back, Weiss realized that they had barely a week of relaxation together after that fateful new years party, but at the same time Weiss wouldn't have changed anything. The rest of that time proved just how much she was willing to put Ruby ahead of herself and also how much Ruby was willing to go through for her. They'd known each other since the beginning of the year and after a rocky start, became friends. She never really realized how much of their relationship had been built before either knew they were building it, but was thankful that everything had worked out the way it had.

Not wanting to wait any longer, Weiss leaned up to join her lips to Ruby's. She left her arms on the bed beside her, feeling that she could surrender everything she was to Ruby, knowing her fiance would take good care of her.

Unfortunately, the moment didn't last as two loud knocks on the door made Ruby move just out of reach.

"I won't see you until Wednesday." Ruby said sadly. "If things get tough, remember I love you, okay?"

"I will." Weiss stood and gave Ruby one last kiss as the knock repeated itself. Weiss took a deep breath and whispered into Ruby's ear. "This is going to hurt both of us. Just know that I will only ever want to say the opposite."

Ruby nodded. This was going to be one of the toughest parts of their plan, but it was a necessary evil since she knew Weiss's father was watching through his employees and they needed him to let down his guard however slightly in order to even consider continuing on with the plan.

"RUBY ROSE!" Weiss yelled loud enough to be heard through the door as she took the items from a pile she'd made and threw them at the wall to make crashing noises. "You are the biggest idiot I have ever known! And I am glad I'm never coming back here!"

A vial of dust hit the wall making a noise like a gunshot. Ruby was already sitting on her bed as she watched the effort Weiss put into her tone. Weiss only hoped that Ruby wasn't taking what she was yelling to heart. Weiss continued on her scripted tirade automatically until she reached the final two lines. She couldn't bring herself to even look in Ruby's direction as she screamed them out loud.

"I hate you, Ruby Rose! And I never ever want to see your face again!" Weiss moved quickly to the door, taking her suitcase and her weapon as she threw it open to reveal a man and a woman in black suits with white accents. Small snowflakes on their shoulders identified them as her father's employees as the ear buds in their ears told her that everything she'd just yelled had been caught on audio. "What are you standing there for? Actually, never mind. Get out of my way."

Weiss stormed past them, pushing the woman out of the way roughly before the two shrugged at each other and followed.

Ruby watched them all leave through the open door and waited for the sound of their footsteps to die away before she got up to close it. As she turned, she saw the white binder had slipped to the floor during Weiss's act. She wanted to start reading it, but the words Weiss had pretended to yell at her were still fresh in her mind, making it difficult to want to do anything but cry even though she knew she hadn't meant any of them.

Ruby picked up the binder and tossed it back onto the desk, as she contemplated taking a few minutes to get her tears out of her system when she noticed a piece of paper that had fallen out. She picked it up and turned it over to find an ice blue note stuck on top of a paper that contained a small essay. It was all written in Weiss's unmistakable cursive. Ruby took a deep breath and started reading.

_Dear Dolt,_

_I'm sure that it hurt to hear all the things I yelled at you before I left. Just know that I never wanted to do that but Yang insisted I do for the sake of our plans. I actually had quite a difficult time writing the actual script, but I wanted you to have the original draft so you know what I had really wanted to say. What I'll only ever want to say._

_Until we meet again,_

_Your fiance,_

_Weiss_

Ruby's tears broke as she moved the note to read the script below it. It was identical to what Weiss had yelled at her but with one major difference - Weiss had only written good things as if she couldn't bring herself to write anything bad about Ruby.

Ruby read to the last lines and had to stop to wipe her face from the tears she was shedding, not due to hurt, but because of how much of herself Weiss had put onto that single paper for Ruby's peace of mind. Ruby looked down at the last two lines and read them out loud to herself just to make sure they were real, to make sure she wasn't just reading what she wanted to make herself feel better.

_I love you, Ruby Rose, (with all my heart)! And I want to see you every day that I wake up (in this lifetime and the next)._

Ruby smiled and sighed as she imagined everything Weiss had written to her being spoken in the loving whispers they often shared in the morning before the others awoke. At least until she looked farther down the page and found one last line that had obviously been added in a rush as if Weiss had thought of it just before she placed the note into the binder.

_I'm waiting for you, my knight in dented armour, to rescue me. I shall hold my breath until I can have you in my arms again. Until we can be united for eternity. -W.S._

Ruby felt her legs weaken at the poetry she'd received. It was just like in her favourite book, but much more original. She only had one question._ Why dented armour?_


	62. Chapter 62

Weiss felt the beginning of a headache twitch behind her eyes. She'd been sitting at this elongated table for the last two hours while an array of businessmen across from her made bad jokes about golf, their servants, and in some cases their wives. Said wives sat beside her in a row, occasionally offering a quiet titter at the punchline of their husbands jokes. Other than Weiss, only a single other woman hadn't uttered a sound since thanking the servant who pushed in her chair.

Weiss glanced down at the silver watch she'd adorned for the occasion with a mix of disgust and despair. The watch had been given to her as what she liked to think of as a consolation gift from her father when she'd returned home the previous day, and it told her she still had another two hours and an equal number of courses before she could politely leave the company of the boring people around her.

"So then I tell her, I'm not your gardener! I'm your layer!" The men all laughed heartily at the punchline. A few of the wives joined in but Weiss kept her silence. Not because she'd been ignoring the joke, though that wasn't for lack of trying, but because she simply found it tasteless in comparison to the things she liked to laugh with her team about.

"You've been awfully quiet, Weiss. Is everything alright?" A man asked her, snapping her head out of the clouds.

"I'm terribly sorry." Weiss bowed her head in response. "I believe I'm just a bit under the weather today. But thank you for the concern."

Weiss almost couldn't believe how simply she'd come up with the response. Maybe it was because the man who'd asked was one she'd known since before she could talk. He was always nice to her, even if he wasn't always welcome in her father's presence.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I think we all want to know what you think of your big day tomorrow." His statement was met with a few nods from the other businessmen and Weiss noticed their wives were watching her as well. Her father was sitting at the head of the table watching her with his steely gaze, daring her to make a mistake. Thankfully her stepmother had chosen to avoid this practice dinner altogether.

"I am… unfortunately at a loss for words to describe my thoughts." She started diplomatically. "I suppose you could say I am slightly nervous."

A round of laughs echoed from around the table at the supposed joke Weiss had made. Even the wives were smiling at her in a way that made her want to rip their faces off. Except the one at the end who had still to utter a sound.

"Well, I suppose that is expected. Marriage is a big step after all." From here the talk returned to stocks and politics as Weiss once again was removed from the spotlight.

Weiss glanced around quickly and waved for a waiter. She wiped her hands on the napkin she had on her lap before placing it on the edge of the table and rising, the summoned waiter pulling her chair back as she stood while excusing herself quietly to those around her. She walked quickly, the only thing on her mind was the boiling frustration that she couldn't show to the others in that room. She found herself outside the back of the hall where they were having the dinner and proceeded to walk into the nearby trees. When she judged she was far enough away, she found a solid looking tree and let loose a punch that would have made Yang proud as the skin on her knuckles ripped away a piece of the unfortunate tree's bark.

If she was being rational, she would have stopped there. She had already cut her hand and blood was slowly oozing out of the wound as her aura worked to heal. Her next punch with her other hand ripped even more of the bark away and the yell Weiss let out made her feel good. Even the pain helped her feel as if she were doing something right.

She kept punching in the same spots over and over as she let out all the anger that seemed to be constantly bubbling under the surface for the past few days. The tree slowly soaked up the blood her fists left behind and after a few more hits, Weiss wound up and put all her strength behind what she knew was going to be her last punch.

A loud cracking noise echoed around her as she felt the bones in her hand break. The dent in the wood she'd left, a permanent reminder of how hard she'd hit the undeserving plant as her aura worked to repair the fractured bone. Weiss stood there panting as she caught her breath and tried desperately not to cry and ruin her makeup.

"Hey there little duck." A quiet voice spoke from behind her. Weiss spun to find Winter standing before her in an outfit she knew wasn't her choice. "Come here."

Winter approached and pulled Weiss into a hug that Weiss returned quickly, trying not to let her blood stain the white of the dress. It lasted for a long time as she felt her aura finish it's work.

"How did you find me?" Weiss asked, knowing if Winter could find her, other people could have as well. Something that didn't sit right with the heiress.

"I'm sure you noticed Penelope at the table. She owed me a favor." Winter replied gently. "How are you holding up?"

"Better now." Weiss stepped out of the embrace and looked down at her dress. Small flecks of red were visible even in the dying light that showed where her blood had splashed back from her fight with the tree. "Father is going to kill me if I return like this, though."

"I've already taken care of it." Winter replied. "Let's go back to my place and you can relax. It'll be a big day tomorrow, and you'll need your sleep."

Weiss nodded in thanks as she wiped a tear from her face, knowing her makeup would likely be ruined. She followed Winter around the side of the hall to the parking lot. Weiss looked around at all the excessively expensive cars. Most of them were made to be ridiculously over powered and overpriced, while never once meeting the potential they offered. Winter stopped in front of one of the few simple economical vehicles in the lot. Smooth curves weren't anything like the jagged edges on the others, but it looked reliable.

"Driving always helps me relax, so I wanted you to give it a try." Winter held out her keys for Weiss.

"Are you sure?" Weiss was hesitant. On a second glance, she realized the car was old. Most likely older than she was.

"It's safe, don't worry." Winter tossed the keys making Weiss catch them. "Now let's go before they realize you aren't actually ill."

"Right." Weiss nodded and they both took their places in the car.

Weiss did everything she remembered about driving the few times she'd been taught by her tutors before Beacon, and quickly realized the car was much more sluggish than the sports car her father had insisted she used to learn.

It wasn't long before Weiss pulled out onto the highway and started speeding up, but Winter surprised her with a smack on her shoulder.

"Come on, you can do better than that!" Winter laughed. "She might not look or feel like much, but that's only until you put that petal down!"

Weiss watched as another car passed her and sighed. She just wanted to get home. She followed her sister's advice and floored the gas, surprised that the roar of the motor was louder than she thought it would be.

The car shot forward, gluing her to the back of her seat as Winter laughed. Within seconds, they were passing the cars that had just passed them and Weiss was thankful that there was no speed limit on this road. More surprising still was the sports car that they passed who's motor spoke of extreme stress at keeping up the speed it was.

"What did you do to this thing?" Weiss asked happily as the task at hand flushed everything else from her mind. She didn't dare look away from the road but her peripherals were full of dark blurs as they rocketed down the highway.

"A friend of mine really knows motors. This thing can out-race and out-last everything dear father has in his garage." Winter said with an air of smugness.

"It might not be pretty, but this is amazing!" Weiss felt herself smile as she pushed the car even faster. The scenery flew by in a whirlwind of colors as she felt the motor shift into the next gear. The speedometer was an old dial that had long ago been maxed out with the needle stopped at the upper end of the gauge. "Ruby would love this!"

"I thought you might like it. That's why it's part one of your surprise." Weiss took her foot all the way off the gas as she felt a sudden nervousness grip her. She slowed to a more appropriate speed and relaxed as she finished the last five minutes of the drive to Winter's home. Not another word was spoken the rest of the trip as she contemplated exactly what her _surprise_ meant.


	63. Chapter 63

"Winter, you can't do this!" Weiss objected stubbornly as Winter childishly held up her fingers to her ears.

"LA LA LA I'M NOT LISTENING!" Winter shouted over Weiss's continued pleas. She even had her eyes squeezed shut as if Weiss had somehow learned her fiance's puppy dog look.

"I can't accept this gift! If anything I owe you something for helping me!" Weiss once again tried to get through to Winter.

"YOU DON'T OWE ME ANYTHING! LA LA LA!" Winter replied, breaking the illusion that she really couldn't hear Weiss. The younger sister folded her arms across her chest in frustration and Winter stopped her yelling in response to how distressed Weiss sounded. She popped one eye open and saw that she seemed to be pouting. "Come on, it's no big deal. I'll just get another one. Unless you'd prefer a new one?"

"NO!" Weiss quickly objected. "I don't want one at all! Where would I even use it?"

"Come on now, you don't want to skip ahead and ruin the surprises now, do you?" Winter asked playfully.

"What did you do?" Weiss asked, now afraid of recieving even more large gifts from her sister. "Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid."

"Of course not… but I did convince father dearest to." Winter replied with a smug grin that just begged Weiss to ask the question. So after a small pause, she did.

"What _exactly_ does that mean?" Weiss was actually glad she'd been picked up by her sister since she had been feeling more happy every minute they spent together. Even if they were yelling at each other.

"Well, I'm not supposed to say anything…" Winter paused dramatically, earning a roll of Weiss's eyes. "And I'm definitely not allowed to explain how you've been given a house in each kingdom. I'm also not to mention that everything is already signed over in your name. And I'm definitely not allowed to say that I got my friend hired to fix up a few other things that are at each house. Except the one here."

"Winter…" Weiss felt a wave of shock crash into her. If what she was saying was true, then it sounded as if she had everything she could possibly ever need lined up for her.

"Nope! Still not done." Winter waggled her finger at her sister. "I also wanted to give you a few things to help make tomorrow easier, but you have to open them here. You'll know why once you do."

Winter pulled out a medium sized box and hesitated before handing it to her sister. Weiss looked at her sister curiously as she took the end of the bow to pull the ribbon off.

"WAIT!" Winter grabbed Weiss's hand, stopping her from opening the present. "I've changed my mind. I think it might be a bit better if you did that in private. With Ruby."

"What exactly did you put in here?" Weiss asked suspiciously, but she still released the bow.

"It might not have been the best idea…" Winter admitted quietly. "I wanted you to have a few things that I thought might come in handy, but… well… they're not exactly something that you'd want your sister to buy."

"What is it, Winter?" Weiss pushed, now even more suspicious than before.

"Listen. I can't say that you'll like the gift, but can you do me a favour?" Weiss nodded in response to the question. Whatever Winter had gotten her, it was either very strange or embarrassing. Or possibly even both. "Don't open it until you're alone with your wife?"

Weiss sighed in defeat. She didn't like presents to begin with but the way her sister was asking was making this into a much bigger deal than it probably was. "Fine. You have my word. I'll just get you to put this in the getaway car tomorrow."

Weiss yawned as she placed the box on the floor. Winter smiled and helped her up.

"It's a really big day tomorrow, so get some sleep. I'll wake you when it's time." Winter walked Weiss to the guest room in her house. It wasn't exactly fancy, and for a Schnee it was almost pitiful, but Weiss couldn't help but smile at the simple, comfortable space.

"Alright. Thanks again for getting me out of there earlier. And helping me with tomorrow." Weiss gave her sister a small hug to show her thanks. She honestly could say that her sister had been taking large strides in repairing their relationship while also strengthening it more than it had been in years.

"Weiss, I promise that you can count on me." Winter replied more seriously than Weiss had heard her sound all evening.

"I'll hold you to that then." Weiss responded before she turned to head off into the guest room. "Goodnight sis."

"Goodnight, little duck." Winter responded quietly as the door closed, surprised at her sister's words that sounded so similar to those of the blond girl she'd fought only days ago. Winter walked to her own room while she smiled to herself, happy that she'd been given the chance to be the sister Weiss needed in this stressful time.


	64. Chapter 64

"Okay, everything is in place." Winter informed Weiss as she sat at the vanity in the large church. Her flowing white dress folded neatly beneath her as she sat and applied the simple makeup to her face. She left her scar untouched as she felt it was a part of her she didn't want hidden. No doubt her father would see it differently. "You even have a few extra guests who I'm sure father isn't too pleased to see."

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked quickly.

"They're in the parking lot right now, so security can't do anything. But I'm fairly certain you know them all." Winter passed her scroll over to Weiss who's jaw dropped in shock. Standing and talking in the photo were none other than Ruby's family and a few of her professors.

"I need to get out there." Weiss was stopped by Winter's hand on her shoulder. "Technically you're not supposed to leave, but I'll cover for you. Use the side door."

"Thanks." Weiss exited the room quickly, and was thankful that the halls were still basically empty since they were the first few people there.

Weiss quickly opened the side door and ran out into the paved lot, stopping beside the large truck that she recognized as belonging to Ruby's father.

"Pretty soon, apparently." Qrow was talking to the others who all looked up at the arrival of Weiss.

"Hello Weiss, how are you doing today?" Professor Port asked in his jovial voice as he looked at the heiress.

"So I hear you got a thing for my niece!" Qrow growled before pulling her into a sideways hug.

"Um… hello." Weiss replied quickly as she glanced at the two guards standing at the front of the church. "Listen, I'm not sure how much Ruby's told you, but just go with what happens and don't start a fight, okay?"

She glared at the man with his arm around her for a moment before he backed off and waved his hands in surrender.

"Be on my best behaviour, promise." He spoke steadily, making Weiss hope he wouldn't be too impaired when the action started.

"Ruby already gave us the full briefing." Taiyang replied. "We'll be waiting here for the second half."

"Great." Weiss nodded. "And I didn't expect you two to show up."

Professor Port laughed again at Weiss's statement. "It's not everyday that two of my star students decide to declare their bond to each other. I wouldn't miss it!"

"And as the headmaster of Beacon, it is my job to ensure that no harm shall come to my students, whether their parents withdraw them or not." Professor Ozpin spoke calmly. Weiss noted that this was most likely the first time that she'd seen him without a coffee cup.

"Alright, then if you two would follow me, I'll be able to get you into the church without too much fuss. I know my father has probably alerted security about Ruby and her family though." Weiss explained quickly, noticing a guard turn in their direction.

"We understand." Taiyang nodded. "This first bit isn't that important anyways. Just wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything."

Weiss nodded and led her professors back to the guards who were already approaching them.

"These two guests seem to have misplaced their invitations." Weiss stated to the guard as she continued walking past, forcing him to reverse his path.

"Miss, you are not permitted to be out here." He said uncertainly.

"This is an issue I was required to rectify. Do you have a problem with that?" Weiss asked coldly.

"N-no p-problem!" He almost jumped at Weiss's tone.

"Good, now show my guests to their seats. I want them no farther than the fourth row. Move someone else if you have to." Weiss gave a last nod to her professors before she walked back to the room Winter was waiting for her in front of.

She didn't say a word as she opened the door for the bride. Weiss walked in and almost froze as she found herself face to face with her father. In his hands rested her weapon, now gleaming silver as the polish that had been applied picked up all the light it could. She blinked her thoughts away as she moved to resume her seat at the vanity, waiting for her father to speak.

It was a long silence as Weiss continued to fix her makeup and hair. It was about forty minutes later when she'd finally finished that she looked up to find her father simply watching her from the same spot he'd been when she first reentered her room. Noticing her stare in the mirror, he cleared his throat.

"Today is a day of beginnings, Weiss." He stated simply as he approached with her weapon while he slid it into an equally silver sheath. "Marriage will test your strength like I'm sure nothing else will. But you will not disgrace the Schnee name."

Weiss felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Her father wasn't asking her, he was commanding her. She remained silent as nothing she could say right now would make any difference.

"This weapon has been passed down from generation to generation within our family. A fact which I'm sure you already know." He continued, looking at the fine weapon in his hands. "Not only does it embody the purpose we serve, it shows our loyalty to our fellow man…. Your husband is one of very few that I found to be a suitable head to our dynasty, as I will be retiring next year."

"Suitable for the company." Weiss echoed in a dull laugh. "I'd run circles around him."

"Weiss, you must learn your place in life." Her father replied sharply. "Insulting your husband is _not_ your place."

"We're not married, not yet." Weiss replied equally as sharp. "And if you cared for me in the slightest, you'd call this whole thing off and let things return to how they were before."

"You should understand by now, it is our family's duty to provide for the protectors of human kind. Today, it is your duty to ensure a competent man is the one to take up that duty." Her father responded in kind.

"And you're not listening! What if I was the one to take over?" Weiss asked, losing her patience. "I'm more competent than all of those assholes you had at the dinner yesterday!"

Weiss flinched as she watched her father raise his hand as if to hit her. He seemed to take notice of the reaction and stopped before he made contact. After a few seconds he dropped his hand to his side and dropped Myrtenaster unceremoniously into Weiss's lap.

"Be that as it may, you are a woman." He stated simply as he approached the door to the room. "You will never run this company, except from the shadow of a husband. You will never sire an heir, save with the help of a husband. And you will never amount to anything… without… a… husband."

With that, he left, leaving the door open for Winter to reenter as he stormed down the hall. She closed the door quietly and simply waited for Weiss to speak. Weiss didn't doubt she'd heard the entire exchange from the other side of the door. She knew she'd be going against her father, and she had been more than willing to do so for the past years of her life, but now she was afraid and uncertain about continuing.

"Am I really doing the right thing, Winter?" She asked quietly, but she knew there was no way Winter had missed the question.

"Only you can answer that question." Winter responded as she slowly approached. "Just think of Ruby and you'll find your answer…. But if I had to say, I'd say you're making the right choice."

"How do you know that though?" Weiss asked again as she turned to her sister.

"Call it intuition." Winter replied with a smile, pulling out her scroll and loading a picture she'd taken. Weiss recognized the background as the room they'd spent so much time on the contract in. She and Ruby were leaning against each other sleeping, Weiss with a handful of papers in her hands, and a notebook and pen in Ruby's. Ruby had her head in the crook of Weiss's neck and Weiss had hers resting atop of Ruby's. It was a scene that spoke volumes about their relationship. It told of how well they worked together, how well they got along, and how much they trusted each other. Weiss noticed the small smiles gracing both of their faces and couldn't feel a pang of remorse for her earlier questions.

"You're right. I'm in love with that dunce." Weiss grinned up at her sister who leaned down into a hug.

"Good, because today is when you'll get to prove it to everyone." Winter replied with a gentle squeeze. "I'll do my part, just remember to keep that anger of yours inside until you need it."

Weiss felt herself laugh at the idea of Winter finding her punching trees a second day in a row. "Don't worry, I don't think the trees deserve another beat down."

"Good. And try not to hit father too hard, either. He is retiring soon, after all." Winter laughed in response as she extricated herself. "But I'm going to go check how long we have to wait. I don't think there's too much time left until we start."

"Alright, just remember that a lot of this depends on timing." Weiss reminded her as she left. She looked back at the mirror and sighed as she noticed how fake her makeup made her look. "Well, this junk is coming off…"


	65. Chapter 65

Weiss was far too nervous to pay attention to the ceremony, and it was a long one. The shoes she'd been given were borderline impossible to walk in, let alone stand due to their obscene height. But she did and she was. The man next to her had been the one who had asked her all the questions the previous night. She would have found it almost funny how she hadn't learned his name until she had walked up to him with her arm in her father's not two hours ago, if he wasn't going to be Ruby's opponent in a duel.

"And now you may recite your vows." The preacher said, followed by the loud voice of her supposed future husband as he spoke his part.

Weiss waited and spoke her vow only barely loud enough for the preacher to hear it. She didn't think it really mattered whether she did or not since she could only back out of the wedding if her father permitted it. He didn't. Proof enough were the vows that had been written for her and then promptly memorized, but she felt as if it was her betrayal not her father's. In a sense, she supposed it was even if she didn't want to believe it. As she looked at the middle aged man before her, she saw the security at the door listen into their ear buds and discreetly leave the room.

_So it's starting…._ Weiss thought as she started counting the seconds. She only made it to eight before the preacher continued into the line she was waiting for.

"If anyone can show just cause why this couple should not be lawfully wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." The church was silent for the barest of moments as Weiss kept counting up until twenty. A nervous sweat broke out on her neck as she noticed the preacher start to open his mouth to break the silence and continue.

The loudest crash Weiss had heard in quite a while made everyone sitting in the church recoil as a large metal canister embedded itself into the middle of the isle as it smoked slightly from it's impact. A few of the women had started screaming and a few men were swearing at the shock of the invasion. The thrusters on the locker's roof were making waves of heat roll into the already warm room. A second later the door swung open, and out stepped the one person Weiss had been longing to see since she yelled at her two days before. She regretted her actions but it had made the presence of her father much more… bearable… in the past day than she knew it would have been otherwise. It also made it seem unnecessary to set up preventative measures to ensure the wedding was a success. Something she was sure he'd done anyways.

Garbed in a long white dress, and shining like the angel Weiss knew she was watching, Ruby approached the altar with a smug grin on her face as she took Weiss's hand and gave it a small kiss. Weiss blushed at the public display and knew this was Ruby's way of assuring her that everything had been forgiven. She turned to the surprised preacher, her grin faded into a serious, if neutral, expression.

"_I_ object." She turned back to Weiss and whispered under her breath. "Sorry I was running a bit late."

"Quite alright." Weiss hissed in response as she looked back up at the preacher. "You didn't miss anything noteworthy."

A smile tugged at Ruby's lips but she fought it for the couple of seconds it took for the preacher to snap out of his shock at the events now taking place.

"And what reason do you present that shows why these two should not be wed?" Weiss gave the man credit, her father had found someone who was actually concerned about his job. Either that, or he knew how he acted decided if he'd get paid or not.

"Weiss is a minor and this marriage is a result of a contract made by her father." Ruby stated loudly for the entire congregation to hear. "He didn't object when he knew she was gay, or dating me, or when he pushed this whole thing up a few years. So now I'm raising my objection that this wedding is a form of fraud in order to acquire business assets while bypassing laws and taxation, and a form of child neglect and possibly abuse depending on your definition of emotional, psychological, financial, and cultural abuse."

"These claims are unsubstantiated. Security, remove her now!" Weiss's father spoke loudly as if commenting on an expected plot twist in a movie.

"I wouldn't depend on those losers too much." Yang walked in through the large doors at the end of the isle, Blake slipping in just behind her and leaning against the wall with her faunus ears in full sight. "I've fought white fang who are tougher than those guys."

Weiss's father spun around at the interruption. He recognized the buxom woman standing in the isle of the church as one of his daughter's teammates. The connection identifying the quiet faunus standing just far enough behind her to be overlooked, yet close enough to be of use should communication break down. He took a deep breath to calm himself, drawing a surprised look from the corner of his daughter's eye.

"Regardless, Rose is a minor as well. She has no authority to object!" Mr. Schnee spoke quietly, yet the entire crowd around him seemed to shuffle backwards and away as his hate filled gaze remained fixed on Ruby.

"She's not, but I am." Yang replied. "And I second her objection."

"As do I." Taiyang spoke as he made his way in through the door behind Yang, followed by Ruby's uncle.

"Same here." Qrow looked at Weiss's father threateningly. "I dare you to try what you're thinking. And then we'll see who really should have won that match."

Mr. Schnee ignored Qrow's taunt and turned his focus back up to the preacher. "These accusations are unfounded! You will marry my daughter to Mr. Noar, or I promise you won't see a cent from our agreement."

The preacher seemed hesitant as he looked down at the two girls in front of him. He looked up at the groom who'd remained silent, his face the mask of a businessman given a bad deal. Ruby had positioned herself just in front of Weiss and the preacher sighed audibly.

"My hands in this case are tied. The laws of Mystral dictate that a duel will decide this matter unless the challenger steps down." He looked down at Ruby. "I must now ask who of you will be representing each party in battle?"

"I will represent myself." Bruce asserted calmly as if he was certain of his win.

"Very well, and the girl?" The preacher looked over at the three uninvited guests at the back of the room.

"She may represent herself if she wishes." Taiyang spoke loudly. "As guardian, I give my consent."

"As you wish…" The preacher looked down at the young girl in front of him. "Mr. Noar is a formidable boxer. I doubt you can best him. Are you sure-"

"Oh, yeah." Ruby smiled smugly once again as she pulled out her scroll and pressed a button. The large metal coffin she'd come in with hissed as a panel in the inside slid down to reveal her folded weapon. Ruby looked at the groom seriously as she took it from it's mount and twirled it onto her shoulder before giving him a nod. "Don't worry, I'll only hit you hard enough to win."

Bruce cracked his neck and then his knuckles as he pushed Ruby's taunt aside while looking pointedly at the preacher to get the show started. The preacher sighed as his mind's eye watched his paycheck vanish. "Then let us proceed outside. Blood shalt not be shed on holy ground."


	66. Chapter 66

Ruby stood there with her weapon on her shoulder. She stood unsteadily on her high heels, but didn't let it show. Her face was calm and confident as she stared down her opponent from ten feet away. According to her research, Bruce Noar was a lightweight boxer from Mystral who had only aged since his retirement at twenty six. Now he was CEO of his family's business, but all Ruby saw was an old warrior who knew how to take a hit. Somehow, she just knew this fight wasn't going to turn out the way the man expected it to, but it didn't mean she'd let her guard down.

Ruby glanced around at the crowd of people that stood between the two combatants and the building. In the center was Weiss standing in front of her father, his hands gripping her shoulders in a way that made Ruby's blood boil. It was as if he was daring her to take what he thought of as his. Surrounding them were the guards that Yang and Blake had temporarily distracted while she raised her objection in the church. Ruby doubted that they'd actually be a threat, but she knew her uncle had volunteered to control them if needed. _Whatever that meant to him while he was half-drunk_.

"Begin!" Ruby's head snapped back to her opponent to find he was already sending a fist at her before she'd even had time to react. She quickly took the punch, allowing her aura to absorb what little of the hit wasn't deflected by her spin. She brought her weapon off her shoulder and ducked under his second punch before firing her weapon to give her elbow a fair amount of force.

The hit sent the retired boxer back a few steps, but Ruby didn't push the advantage. This fight was as much about winning and keeping Weiss from getting married to anyone else as it was for her to send a message to everyone else. Ruby felt that the only way she'd get that message through to the most important recipient was to show her confidence even when the odds seemed to be against her.

She replaced her weapon at her back and clipped it onto the white leather belt that was hidden beneath most of the fabric. She raised her fists and took a steadier stance before her opponent once again moved in.

The man rained punches down at her but Ruby had been helping Yang spar for a long time. She dodged what she could and blocked what she couldn't. Every now and then, she countered and was surprised with a hit on her second try. The man seemed to just be getting stronger and Ruby needed to rest as her arms started to feel the hits that she blocked start to form bruises. It was a far cry from sparring with their uncle, but the lack of difficulty didn't mean this was one time she could rush and make a mistake.

Ruby used her semblance on a counter and hit him square in the throat, making him reel back in a coughing fit as Ruby retreated as well.

"Listen, you can end this anytime you like." Ruby informed him simply as she drew her weapon. She flipped it up to her shoulder and let it extend into it's scythe form.

"I won't lose to you!" Bruce replied in a growl as he started marching over to Ruby.

"Suit yourself…" Ruby spun her blade down into the soft ground while she cocked a new round into the chamber. She fired a ice round that Bruce caught on his fist, giving him what looked like a small wrecking ball at the end of his arm. He moved quickly and Ruby dodged under her scythe as the ball of ice came down where she'd been standing. A second later, she had jumped back over her scythe and kicked her opponent in the side of the head which put him back on the ground.

Ruby pulled the weapon out of the ground and moved to another of her combat stances. She now held her scythe behind her, ready to either slice or stab depending on his move. She didn't know how far she'd have to take this fight since Weiss had only written in the plan that it would end eventually. She hoped it ended soon. The muscles in her ankles were definitely going to be hating her later on.

Bruce pushed himself back up and wound up a massive punch. Ruby moved to block it but realized a second too late that he'd been feinting. She tried to adjust but it was impossible and a split second later she'd dropped her scythe and landed hard on her back, her head bouncing off the grassy ground. She started picking herself up when Bruce brought the fist of ice down into her stomach, pushing all the air from her lungs.

Not knowing whether or not he'd continue attacking, Ruby rolled out of the way to hear another dull thud where his punch had missed. The good thing was that he was slow, otherwise she'd be in a lot more trouble. All she really had to worry about was the hard hits with the fist of ice she'd given him.

Ruby jumped up, cursing her white dress that now had taken on a small amount of green as the grass stains showed how she'd landed. Bruce was advancing and Ruby felt her ankles wobble as she took a step. The hit she'd taken had hit harder than she'd thought.

"Now, you'll know the punishment for your insult." Bruce punched his iced hand and destroyed the ice leaving him once again with his two normal fists.

"That's what you think." Ruby replied, hoping to enrage him. She could only hope that if he had a semblance, it was not like Yang's.

Bruce seemed to move in slow motion for a second before his fist moved like a bolt of lightning, striking her dead center of mass, sending her tumbling back even further. Ruby rolled to her feet, as she watched her opponent walk oddly slowly towards her before suddenly flashing to a new position as if someone was playing with a slow motion dial. She regained her breath just as he came within a few feet but suddenly flashed forwards, landing a solid hit to her head that landed her on the ground with her head spinning.

"RUBY! Surrender! It's no use!" She heard a scream from the sidelines. Her head was still spinning too fast to recognize it as another hit landed in her stomach, pushing whatever little air was left in her lungs out.

She coughed, rolling to the side while trying desperately to recover as a kick landed in the same spot she'd been punched.

"Wait…" Ruby croaked out just as a second kick impacted her, sending her sliding on the ground, picking up even more grass stains as she lost a shoe.

"Do you concede your defeat?" Bruce asked as he slowly approached the girl.

"Just do what he says! Please!" Finally, Ruby identified the voice screaming from the sidelines. It was Weiss, the one person who could tell her to stop fighting. Except this wasn't just about Weiss anymore, the duel was about everyone and everything she placed importance on. Her friends, her team, her family, her love for the heiress… she couldn't let them all down now and she wouldn't. She also knew that Weiss already knew this, meaning that something else was wrong here and she finally realized something that had taken her a long time to figure out. Something that her uncle had been trying to teach her since she'd first learned of her semblance. That there were some things that only she could do, and some things she couldn't.

Holding up a hand to ask for a moment, she coughed trying to re-inflate her lungs to answer her opponent. Thankfully, it seemed he was confident in his win as he waited for her to gain a semblance of normal breathing.

"I…" Ruby rasped into another coughing fit after trying to speak and waited for her lungs to calm down before she rolled over onto her stomach and spit into the grass while she pushed herself up on her knees. "I can't do that. Sorry."

"RUBY NO!" Weiss screamed again as Ruby braced herself at the last second for the kick she knew was coming. Her peripherals moved slowly then quickly as before and she felt a hard kick send her sliding back once again.

"Fight back, sis!" Ruby guessed that must have been Yang. She sounded more worried than Ruby'd ever heard her before, but somehow muffled.

Ruby rolled back to her knees, thankful that the kick hadn't winded her again. She quickly took off her remaining heel and discarded it somewhere to the side as she watched her opponent stutter his way forward, fast then slow as if he was a demon in a horror movie. He moved within range as Ruby prepared to enact her theory.

Bruce moved slowly, winding up a kick, and long before Ruby expected him to let it loose, she darted up and away, using her semblance to clear the area just to see her opponent's semblance fail as his leg stopped at his head height after hitting nothing but air.

"Gotcha." Ruby dashed forwards, using her semblance and ripping into the grass, not worried any longer about the stains she was getting into the white fabric she wore.

Ruby knew her hits weren't hard, but that hardly mattered if she hit weak points with her speed-boosted limbs. She aimed for his throat and stomach with two lightning fast hits before he slowed again, indicating his use of semblance. She dodged away to see his lunged punch slicing through where she'd been a moment ago while she noted that the semblance didn't actually speed anything up, it just seemed like it. To her eyes it looked as if time was changing speed, but in reality it wasn't. She smiled smugly as he once again turned to face her, his face frustrated at the fight once again turning against him.

Bruce lunged forward aiming at her head with a punch she guessed was meant to knock her out. She ducked in time and jumped with the aid of her semblance to send her the extra meter to where her dropped weapon was. She caught it and rolled back to a kneeling position as she spun it. She didn't know where her opponent was due to the slowly moving appearance of him taking a step in her direction, but she could guess that he was right on her tail and within her range. Without turning to give off her attack, she gripped the shaft of her weapon remembering the advantage of her weapon's full radius of movement when surrounded or cornered in a wide space. She swept wide and low as she suddenly spun on her knee with the help of her semblance. She felt the fabric of the long skirt strain as she let the scythe slide down her arm for her second radial swipe.

Bruce was just landing, his semblance temporarily off, from the jump he'd taken to dodge the swipe when the pole just below the blade of Ruby's scythe hit his ankles hard, sending him sideways as he launched back into the air in a failed second dodge attempt. Ruby used her semblance as she spun her scythe to the sky then straight down at the center of Bruce's torso.

The dull hammer-like end impacted with an audible crunch before she fired a round, giving the hit the extra force it needed. The dull thud of Bruce impacting with the ground echoed across the field, as a small cloud of dust floated up from the grass due to the force of the impact. Ruby collapsed her weapon and replaced it onto the belt at her back as her opponent lay completely still. She turned to the crowd who seemed surprised that she'd emerged the victor, but the only one she had eyes for was her fiance. Silver met crystalline blue and Ruby knew just from how they shined that she'd done a good job.

"Security, kill the girl." Weiss felt her father's grip tighten in a way she knew would leave a bruise. She tried to shift away but his two hands held her firm.

Weiss could only watch as six security guards emerged from the crowd, all carrying standard issue weapons.

"RUBY! NO! Let me go!" Weiss jerked back to her father as she fought to remove herself from his grip but it was pointless. He was much stronger than her and the way his hands bit into her shoulders, she could tell he wouldn't be letting her go any time soon.

Ruby watched her uncle unsheathe his weapon and start moving towards her fiance's father.

"Everyone, FREEZE!" Winter shouted as she moved out in front of Ruby, blocking most of the guards' aim. "By order of the Atlas military I order you to surrender your weapons."

Qrow stopped where he was standing to see Winter in front of his niece. He replaced the weapon on his back, if only temporarily, but still moved within range to enact his own backup plan. The security guards hesitated, looking to each other and then their employer for direction as Winter tapped her scroll.

Weiss had been anticipating something like this happening when Ruby won the duel so she'd asked her sister to be creative. Just why she decided to use the Atlas military was beyond her guess, since she had no knowledge of any connection between the military and her family other than that of a supplier-client relationship.

"Step down, Winter." Mr. Schnee ordered menacingly. "If you interfere I can guarantee it will be the last time you do."

"Oh, I don't think so…" Winter looked up and the crowd followed her gaze to a massive ball of dark gray steel that came hurtling down onto the turf behind Ruby and Winter. In the small crater it had created, the ball shifted as metal plates realigned themselves as a large mechanoid figure stood with it's weaponized arms aiming over the heads of the crowd. "See, I've been moonlighting with the specialists in Atlas, and they were nice enough to borrow me this toy of theirs for the day. Meet the prototype of the Atlesian Paladin-480A. The most deadly of _all_ the current prototypes."

"Shit." One of the hired security swore and dropped the weapon as he backed down from the menacing creation in front of him. "I heard rumours of these!"

"Kill them both." Mr. Schnee ordered and the paladin reacted immediately. The armour around it's shoulders opened to display arrays of small tubes and lasers that tracked onto each guard as well as Weiss's father immediately.

"Citizens present. Enacting precision execution." The mechanoid spoke through a metallic sounding speaker. "Estimated result is: 0 civilian casualties, 100% success."

"As you can see, it's operated by an AI." Winter stated. "This is your last chance to surrender."

Everyone hesitated, the civilians in the crowd edging back and away from the security guards who remained with their guns aimed at the odd group. Winter waited as the guards wavered between the two simple choices she'd presented.

"If I may make an interjection!" Weiss huffed in annoyance as she finally succeeded in stepping out of her father's grip due to his distraction, and walked up to her sister before turning to the crowd. "If you even _think_ of hurting Ruby, I will personally make this giant hunk of metal look like a fluffy little teddy bear."

If her ice cold glare didn't make it clear to the security guards that she'd make good on her promise, the slow draw of her shining weapon from the sheath at her side pushed the point across. The guards all slowly moved to lay down their weapons, some moving glacially slow as they were still being tracked by the lasers emitting from the Paladin. Weiss watched her father as she waited for him to come to the conclusion she had orchestrated. It took a minute of his angry gaze before he coughed and straightened out.

"Preacher, end this wedding. Now." He spoke calmly as his sharp gaze cut through his two daughters. "We will speak of another in due time."

"R-right." The preacher nervously tugged at his neckline as he stepped out of the crowd. Winter pressed a button on her scroll and the paladin returned itself to it's standby state with it's weapons returning to their concealed homes.

"At this time I would normally ask if there are any other objections as to why…" He looked at Ruby questioningly and it took her a second to realize what he was asking.

"Ruby Rose." She replied with a grin.

"Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee shall not be wed. However as this is now a same-sex marriage, and I must defer from the role appointed to me, as the church to which I've registered feels it is in bad taste to support ceremonies such as these." He turned to the two girls and bowed respectfully. "I have no reason to continue this wedding, and I will not. I apologize for my interference. I wish you luck."

With a quick glance at his employer, he returned to the church. The guests of the wedding looked around in confusion. They whispered to each other and wondered what would happen while the family of the ex-groom and Taiyang moved Bruce to the pavement where he could make an assessment of how much damage Ruby had done. They seemed angry, but Taiyang dealt with them well due to his excessive experience in the emergency room. Weiss simply took everything in from the grass and mud stains on Ruby's white wedding gown to the frightening war machine looming behind them. The crowd seemed to sense that the wedding was off so they started slowly dispersing as they talked about the dramatic events that would surely be all over the news for the foreseeable future.

"Your plight is over, Weiss. We'll be returning home where I will ensure that you will not continue with your… rebellion." Mr. Schnee hadn't moved, yet it seemed as if his presence had grown larger, deadlier since the beginning of Ruby's objection. "This wedding will be rescheduled and you will not defy my wishes again. Am I making myself clear?"

"No father." Weiss took Ruby's hand and squeezed it gently to draw up the courage she needed. "I'm going to return to Beacon, with Ruby."

Mr. Schnee's nostrils flared in anger as he took a step forward only to be blocked by a sword held to his neck by Qrow. Slowly, the man turned to look down the blade at the grinning drunkard attached to it's hilt. His steely eyes cut into the smiling hunter who didn't give any reaction to the unspoken threat.

"Stay out of my business, Branwen." He growled angrily at the man who simply laughed as he took a swig from his ever-present flask. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and replaced the drink into his jacket before responding.

"Seems it's just as much my business, Schnee." Was the reply as the two men stared daggers into each other's eyes.

"Come on boys, you're both pretty. Now let's move this along." Yang spoke up as she stepped out of the crowd followed by their two professors.

"Professor!" Weiss pulled Ruby forward with Winter trailing behind.

"It seems my invitation was not without purpose, after all." Ozpin spoke to the group as everyone grouped together.

"Would you please perform the ceremony, sir?" Weiss asked with a courteous bow.

"I see no reason not to." Ozpin stated in response. "It seems you are both willing and have the proper permissions."

"I shall not give my permission for this obscenity to take place!" Mr. Schnee growled angrily. "That girl is my daughter, and I will not allow it!"

"I believe that the document residing within this church at the altar will be sufficient permission. You didn't have a problem when she was to marry Mr. Noar." Port spoke up. He let out a booming laugh and shook his head. "It's been a long while since I've been to a wedding this exciting!"

Weiss smiled as her professor's laugh but faltered when she saw her father's face. Immediately she knew she'd overlooked something very important in her plan. She hadn't given anyone the job to ensure that document of permission remained usable.

"No…" She took a single step and stopped when her father's face broke out into a grin. Her fear was starting to well up as she realized that this one mistake could cost her everything she'd worked so hard for. And nobody would be able to do anything about it.

"Yes, it is being destroyed as we speak." He stated confidently, looking down at his daughter.

"Yang told you not to rely on your security too much." Blake spoke up, stepping out from behind Winter, making Weiss wonder just when she'd joined the group. In her hand, she held a rolled up paper.

"Give me that!" Mr. Schnee lunged forwards, grasping Blake's arm which exploded into smoke. The real Blake now standing a few feet out of range as Qrow kicked his feet from under him, landing him on his side and forcing the air from his lungs with the unexpected impact. Qrow replaced his weapon on his back before crossing his arms casually.

"Sorry, just doing what everyone else obviously wanted to do." He stated with a drunken laugh and a shrug, while Blake handed the paper to Weiss who quickly made sure it was the right one.

"I'll give this to you for the time being." Weiss handed the paper to the Beacon headmaster who nodded in understanding as he adjusted his glasses to sit higher on his nose. Weiss looked down at her father, wondering just how he could treat anybody, much less a family member the way he'd treated her today. She had no answer and realized she really couldn't care less. If anything, it would be his loss when he realized what the repercussions of his actions were.

"Well, don't everyone move at once! Let's get this thing going!" Qrow cheered, leading them back into the church before waving and shouting for the rest of the broken up crowd to follow. He looked back over his shoulder at the man who was slowly getting back to his feet, trying not to dirty his suit more than it already was. "Oh, and you can keep lying there Schnee. I'll make sure to step on you on my way out."

"Don't listen to him, lad." Port pulled Weiss's father the rest of the way up, and pulled him forcefully away from the group. Weiss was surprised but relieved that she didn't have to deal with him for a while, especially when she heard her professor start one of his infamous tales. She was sure her father would enjoy _that_. "You know, back when I was a boy, your grandfather…"

They disappeared into the church, following the crowd that was already slowly streaming back in.

Qrow's drunken cackle that echoed out of the church didn't do much to help Weiss's nerves, and the distraction Port was providing for her father made her equally nervous considering his short fuse that had been burnt more than once in the last hour, but the slight pressure of Ruby's hand helped her disregard it all. She looked to her sister and then to everyone who'd helped make this dream a reality and couldn't stop the rush of tears that wanted to break free. Somehow, she managed to keep them in while biting her lip as she looked down at her hand that was carefully entwined with Ruby's.

As they started walking back into the church to prepare for the true ceremony, she took a moment to think. She had wondered earlier about whether or not this whole plan would be a mistake, and she finally had her answer. It was a large, resounding yes. _But it's still the best mistake I've ever made in my life… and the most necessary._

Weiss pulled Ruby closer as they walked to whisper in her ear. "You did wonderfully. I can't thank you enough."

"You're mine. I had to get that point across." Ruby replied equally quietly. "But why did you tell me to stop half way through?"

"What are you talking about, dolt? Why would I do that?" Weiss hissed quickly enough that Ruby giggled from her blending words.

"I dunno…. I mean… I thought it was odd too." Ruby replied, bumping her shoulder into Weiss's.

"Oh… maybe it was his semblance?" Weiss asked thoughtfully. "Something that affects sound?"

"Maybe…" Ruby conceded with a shrug. "I guess it doesn't matter now that I've won. Oh! Before I forget, I had to ask why you called me a knight with dented armour on that paper."

Weiss couldn't stop the small giggle that took over as she walked up the steps with Ruby. "Oh, no. I'm not ruining the surprise. You'll just have to wait and see."

Ruby pouted as they split ways. Ruby was guided by Yang and Blake over to the lone dressing room in the church and Weiss approached the waiting headmaster to discuss how the remainder of the day would proceed. She felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins from all the stress going strong and realized that after today, she'd need a long time to relax and de-stress. But as long as she would be married to the right person, it would all be worth it.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**So I'm only about 90% satisfied with this chapter and _might_ want to change some of the confrontation at the end but I really didn't want to leave you all on the edge of the fight for too long, so here it is. If I do change anything, I'll say something in the A/N next chapter just so there isn't any confusion. Also the next chapter is far too big right now so I'm trying to find a way to divide it into parts properly but a lot happens, so look forward to next Friday!**


	67. Chapter 67

**Author's Note:**

**Turns out I didn't change anything in the last chapter. After much thought, I left it alone and instead made some small tweaks here that allowed everything to work out. Also, before people start complaining: this chapter was planned since almost the start of this story. It was always going to happen.**

* * *

Weiss could finally pay attention to the proceedings. The sights, sounds, and smells all imprinting on her memory where they had failed to do so before. The guests were loudly talking with excited voices through the wall that separated the dressing room she sat in while Ruby waited somewhere else. Here and there she could make out pieces of conversation about Ruby, mostly people wondering who she was and where the Rose family had come from.

This was usually followed by a joke or jab about the drunk man that seemed to be providing entertainment for them while they waited for the second ceremony to begin. Weiss was still not quite used to Ruby's uncle, but she had to admit he had a way with people. Or more likely, he didn't give a damn and people just wanted to see what unfortunate accident he'd walk himself into. Regardless, she was still smiling at him tripping her father onto the ground more than forty minutes earlier.

Her father had been more angry today than she'd ever seen him, and she'd been there the morning when he had found out that a new dust factory had been leveled by the White Fang and his stocks had dropped thirty points that same night. To say the least, the house had been lucky to not explode that day. Though with the cleanup that followed, she suspected it wasn't for lack of trying. Weiss took a small peek under the jacket she now wore that covered her shoulders where she had two large hand prints tenderly drawn on her skin where his grip had bruised her. She hated the feeling that always came after she'd disappointed him, but right now it was overshadowed with nerves.

"Okay Weiss. Yang just messaged me. Everything is pretty much ready. We just need to know who'll be walking you down the isle this time and get everyone back in their seats." Blake spoke from her reclined position on one of the other chairs in her room. Weiss was fairly certain this had been Yang's idea to keep her company, just in case her father tried to get to her. It seemed she was going to owe the girl a large gift as thanks.

Weiss opened her mouth to reply and shut it quickly. She had never actually thought about the actual proceedings that took place after the duel. Meaning she had no idea who should walk her down the isle. Her father was the obvious choice, but she doubted he'd be okay with it considering he was completely against the wedding. Not to mention she'd never even think of giving him another chance unless he actively sought it out. Next in her line of choices was Winter and Blake who had admittedly both been the most crucial members of her plan next to Ruby. Then there was Qrow who she was pretty sure she thought of just because it would rub her father the wrong way, but he'd been quite helpful as well. Though she wasn't sure if it was just chance or if he actually intended to help as much as he did because of his unknown level of constant alcohol consumption.

"I think they're coming now." Blake spoke, breaking her from her thoughts. "I'll leave you alone to talk."

"Wait, who's coming?" Weiss asked as Blake opened the door. She didn't answer as it was now obvious, and closed the door after the two waiting in the hall entered.

"Hello Weiss." Her father spoke. His voice was level and void of emotion, creating a stiff atmosphere as he looked down at her from across the room.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Weiss responded in shock. It wasn't that she wasn't expecting him, but she was expecting something… different. Not the usual poker face she had come to hate.

"He has something he'd like to say to you." Her sister said sharply as her own cold gaze sliced into the man.

Her father sighed with a gesture to one of the plush chairs. Weiss simply nodded as he quietly took a seat on the arm while he looked her over. His dark gray eyes cut through her as they always had done, except now they seemed to be searching, not burning as they always seemed before.

"Your mother…" He began and stopped abruptly. After a minute he continued in a slightly lowered tone of voice. "She'd have been proud to see you today."

Weiss nodded hesitantly. She was honestly shocked to hear him speak about the woman who'd ceased to exist in their household the moment she'd passed away, so many years ago. She started to finally see the emotion in her father's eyes. It looked… broken. As if everything was starting to fall apart behind the glassy exterior. A feeling she knew all too well thanks to the past few weeks. Regardless, she couldn't bring herself to feel any sorrow over the fact.

"And… though you know my opinion, I'll admit my… ideals… may be somewhat… outdated." He continued as he searched for the correct word. If it was anyone else, Weiss would guess that he was shaken by the events that had taken place and to some extent was repentant for his actions. But she found herself hesitant to believe that he was. Especially with the way he showed no emotion on his face as was usual. "But your professor was kind enough to remind me of how our family started. How the Schnee name became important due to the hard work of those before me."

"Get to the point, father." Winter reprimanded earning her an angry, steely glare. "The wedding is about to start, after all."

"Yes… I suppose it is." He stood and moved to his youngest who remained on her chair. He reached out to take her shoulders but she flinched away. He dropped his arms to his sides almost sadly as he looked down at his daughter. "Today, you've shown yourself to be worthy of the name Schnee, and I implore you to consider keeping it. You wear it well."

He turned to the door, her sister following as Weiss's brain absorbed the first compliment she'd ever heard the man utter since her mother had gone. She didn't know what made her do it, but her mouth acted on it's own.

"Stop!" She was shaking now. With anger, frustration, hate, longing, sorrow, and so much more she couldn't even begin to list all the emotion flooding through her heart. "You think you have the right to ask that of me? You dare even talk to me after all you've done?"

"Weiss-" Mr. Schnee's voice was stern as he spun back to his daughter.

"NO! Everything you've done up till now has put me and my girlfriend, fiance, whatever, through hell!" Weiss screamed as she jumped up from her chair and marched angrily over to her father, her eyes glowing radiantly as she screamed. "You organized this marriage in an unbreakable contract! You planned it while I was still at Beacon, which I know damn well you didn't want me to attend!"

She pushed her father back, surprised at her own strength when he stumbled into a chair, eyes widening only a sliver in surprise while the rest of his face remained blank. It was just more fuel for her fire. Even her Winter took a step back from her sister.

"You rudely call my preference in women a phase! In front of my girlfriend, no less! You pit me against some mutated grimm as a test before you sign off on my Beacon entrance papers! You work me to the bone on lessons that have absolutely no bearing on my life just so I don't get ideas of my own! You send assassins after my fiance and her family!" Weiss screamed in his face, her voice straining as tears started to ruin her makeup as they leaked from her eyes. "You try to kill your own daughter, my sister, when she takes my side! You manipulate people to get what you want and now you don't have anyone left to dance for you, so you're reduced to begging at my feet."

Weiss took a deep, shuddering breath as she backed up a step, realizing how much she'd just screamed at the one man who terrified her more than anyone else on remnant. They stared at each other for a few minutes until Winter coughed to break the tension. Weiss turned back to her quickly to see her tap her wrist in reference to the time. She turned back to see her father start to nod.

"You're right."

Those two words made Weiss take another step back and hesitate. Her father's voice seemed to have lost the strength it normally held, replaced with something she could only barely remember hearing in her earliest memories. It was the same type of voice that could make a joke and laugh, but also cry and understand. It was the voice underneath the ice that had been built on over the years. The ice that Weiss had learned to create to shield herself from the same fate.

"You're absolutely right." He repeated with a slight bow of his head. "I… I apologize for my… foolishness."

"You… what reason can you give me that even makes me want to consider accepting your apology?" Weiss snapped back, halting as a hand rested on her shoulder. She winced slightly due to her bruise but the hand was light and barely in contact.

"A Schnee never admits they're wrong." Winter replied for her father. "But he's not a Schnee right now, he's trying to be a father."

"A bit late for that." Weiss snorted as Winter took her hand off her, noticing the discomfort in her face. "He could have tried that, you know, when it would have mattered… like anytime before now."

Silence returned for a moment as Weiss turned back to her vanity in a huff, already moving to fix her makeup. While she did, her father took to his feet and approached behind her.

"A true Schnee always gets exactly what they want." He said one of the many family mantras again as he stood behind her. "Today, whether you like it or not, you've proven that you are a true Schnee. And whether I like it or not, I feel I no longer have the right to take that name in current company."

Weiss continued on with her makeup, not giving any indication she'd heard him. She wasn't ready to forgive him, but it seemed he was trying to move on. She moved on to add another coat of her lip gloss as he continued.

"I understand if you'd prefer not to, but I'd like to ask permission to walk you down the isle." He spoke seriously, almost nervously but his voice remained strong throughout the request.

"Why? So you have one last chance to kill her?" Weiss scoffed irritatedly. "I think not."

"No, I'd like to start fixing what I've broken." He spoke sincerely, something Weiss wasn't sure how to interpret. It was almost as if he actually did feel a little bad about everything he did. "I'd like to start by offering Ms. Rose an apology before she becomes… family.

Weiss placed the gloss back onto the vanity and turned to her father. He was standing there with his head held high, shoulders back, feet at attention and one arm slightly outstretched, offering his hand. She looked past him at her sister who shrugged unhelpfully in response to her unasked question. She considered her father for a moment longer before hesitantly reaching out and hovering her hand over his. _Ruby really must have rubbed off on me to make me consider giving him a second chance._

"If you do one more thing to stop this wedding or harm Ruby in any way, I will stop at _nothing_ to make your life a living hell. Understand?" Weiss spoke firmly while looking up at the eyes that were staring down into her own.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from my daughter." He nodded approvingly as he pulled Weiss to her feet.

"Fine then. But don't think that this means I forgive you for all you've done, because I don't." Mr. Schnee released his daughter's hand as she took the lead out of the room. Winter followed them both as she sent off a message on her scroll.


	68. Chapter 68

Weiss arrived at the wooden doors and heard the slow yet familiar music playing from the other side. This time, she was nervous for a different reason. And this time, she was actually happy to be standing there. As she waited in front of the heavy oak for the audio that would cue her entrance, her sister wrapped her in a gentle hug.

"Now it's finally your day, little duck." She whispered in Weiss's ear. "Go get her."

"Thanks, Winter. You've been amazing." She replied before her cue played and Winter released her. She slowly looped her arm in her father's and Winter pushed the doors open, the sudden light from the sun shining through the stained glass windows blinded her as she took her first step into the room.

She took two more steps before the glare cleared, allowing her to bring everything and everyone into focus. But she couldn't care less about the crowd watching her walk down the isle for the second time that day. Nevertheless, she carefully committed the image before her to memory because it was undoubtedly one of the best moments of her life.

Ruby stood next to her father at the front of the church. Taiyang seemed a little concerned to see Weiss's father but she couldn't bring herself to worry about it. The beautiful girl standing beside him had swept any thoughts from her mind as she took in the simple white dress that was now devoid of debris, but retained the stains from her earlier duel. Her feet were in a simple pair of flats this time, rather than the heels she'd shown up in, but Weiss found the image much more… _Ruby_.

Ruby was there, waiting at the altar for her. She was the knight she'd needed and the one who'd fought for her. Weiss felt that even if this moment was a bit rushed by necessity, she'd known for a while that she loved Ruby more than anyone else she'd ever encountered. Maybe it was a sign for her that Ruby really was meant for her. Because she felt that even though they were moving fast, Ruby was still keeping pace with her. Or maybe it was her that was keeping pace with Ruby, in order to see her smile as many times as possible.

Before she knew it, she was standing face to face with Ruby. Ruby was wearing next to no makeup, meaning the slight cuts and bruises she'd sustained were shining through like medals as she stood smiling at her. Her silver eyes were bright and happy, and Weiss knew that after that day it would be her job to ensure they stayed that way for as long as possible, and to make them shine again when they would dim. It was a challenge she looked forward too.

"Hem…" Her father cleared his throat quietly as Weiss took the final step up beside Ruby. Weiss glanced at him sternly as he turned to Ruby and whispered so the crowd wouldn't hear over the piano still being played. "I would like to apologize for using my semblance in an attempt to influence your duel."

The look Ruby returned was rightfully confused as Weiss too looked up at her father sternly. He seemed to get the question and continued. "Weiss didn't ask for you to forfeit. But we'll talk more later. For now, please take good care of her."

Ruby nodded as he stepped back, taking his place beside Weiss. He nodded to Taiyang and he responded in kind. Ozpin stepped forwards and raised his voice to the hall as he opened the book in his hands.

"Ladies and Gentleman. Once again, we gather here today to join Weiss Schnee with her champion, Ruby Rose, in a bond that shall last till the end of time. At this point I would ask that the families be seated." He paused for everyone in Ruby and Weiss's wedding parties to take their front row seats before continuing with the service.

Weiss listened to every word, her heart pounding in rhythm to them as she held Ruby's hand and looked into her eyes. She couldn't believe how different this was to the first time she'd heard everything spoken. Every vow, every duty, every honour that was spoken of applied to her, and she was more than willing to uphold each for the rest of her life. She blushed at the mention of sex, but knew that it would eventually enter their relationship. It would be impossible for it not to once Ruby started to grow curious. She smiled at the mention of children, knowing that aspect could take a fair amount of work and money invested in science to achieve, but couldn't stop herself from looking forward to that day. She felt a giddy rush when Ozpin mentioned their families becoming one, realizing that now Yang wouldn't just a sister in spirit, but in law as well. That Taiyang was the real father she so wanted, even as her own father seemed to be starting to return from the void.

It would take time to repair the family bonds within the Schnee's, but Weiss realized she was willing to wait and let them mend. Her sister had redeemed herself tenfold in this single day and somehow gotten her father to see some form of reason. Her step mother wasn't there, but that issue would come later. Today she was going to stay happy, now that Ruby had brought the smile back to her lips. And really, she didn't want anything less.

"And now you may recite your vows." Ozpin said, stepping back to take the rings Blake had brought to the altar. He presented Ruby with one and waited as Ruby took Weiss's hand with both of hers. She carefully slipped the ring onto her finger and took a deep breath.

"Weiss, I love you. This past few months has been the best in my life. I finally found someone who was a better friend than Crescent Rose and cookies combined." A few laughs broke out across the church originating from the very few who knew who Ruby was but Weiss's smile only widened at the words that were so… original. "I know we didn't exactly get off to a fantastic start, but I regret nothing, because it's all lead up till this moment here, today. I promise to keep you safe from your nightmares and help you enjoy your daydreams. I will follow you around Remnant just so you have a hand to hold, a voice to laugh with, or a shoulder to cry on. But hopefully there won't be too much crying."

Once again the crowd in the church let out small laughs and even Weiss felt a giggle bubble from her throat. Only Ruby could make something so serious, so funny and yet keep the mood as perfect as it was. She couldn't be more happy that Ruby was the one standing in front of her, speaking her heart as her face continually took on a deepening blush with her smile never once wavering.

"At the end of the day, I want to be the one you rely on as much as I rely on you. And to everything that the world can throw at us, I say bring it on! Because I love you, and you've made me the happiest girl to ever exist." Ruby's smile turned sweet as she blinked back the tears from her own words. "You're my best friend, my partner, and my love. Only you can or ever will fill those few of the many titles I thought up earlier, and I'd never want anyone else to have those positions. Because I love you and always will."

"Do you accept these vows as Ruby's promise to stand at your side until you return to dust?" Ozpin asked and Weiss quickly nodded.

"Yes, I do." Weiss found herself almost whispering in response. "I love you."

A collective 'awww' broke out throughout the church as Ruby brought Weiss's hand to her mouth and planted a small kiss that made Weiss's cheeks flare with heat. It was such an intimate action, yet so public… it was even more liberating than she'd expected after hearing the sweet words from the girl she loved and had to strain to restrain herself from kissing her then and there. She looked to Ozpin who presented her with the ring she'd gotten for Ruby and smiled to herself as she switched positions with Ruby, her two hands cupping Ruby's left as she slid the ring on and then held on tightly as she recalled the vows she'd prepared. Taking a deep breath to calm her still racing heart, she looked up from her fingers to meet the swirling silver staring at her lovingly.

"Ruby Rose, my light, my love, my air, and so many more things that we could stand here until eternity if I were to list them all." She started, smiling brightly at Ruby even as the embarrassment she felt worked its way out in the form of a blush that she knew would be tinting her skin horribly. But this was the one time she had an excuse to tell Ruby and everyone who was watching exactly what she meant to her. There was probably a cameraman somewhere and she wanted to make sure she said everything she needed to so that Ruby would have no doubts about her dedication and love. She pushed the thought aside as she rubbed her thumb over the two rings now sitting on Ruby's finger. "We met in an explosion of fire… with no small amount of ice, and my life has never been the same since. You were so determined to have me as a friend, I didn't even realize you were one until we were best friends and by that time I couldn't bring myself to get off the crazy roller-coaster that some might call happiness. And that's when I fell, so fast and so deeply in love with you that I couldn't even begin to realize what would happen as the days continued to pass. You made me smile for no reason, and laugh about nothing at all. You made me cry in happiness and shiver in excitement as you pulled me forward the way that only you could. And then you did the unthinkable, and taught me that how deep of a love I'd fallen into was only the shallow waters of what I would sink to."

Weiss could see the tears slowly working their way out of Ruby's eyes and she quickly took a handkerchief from her sister who was unsurprisingly ready to offer one up and dabbed at Ruby's eyes gently, ensuring what little makeup was there didn't smear. She kept dabbing gently while still holding Ruby's hand with one of hers.

"Before I knew it I was sinking deeper and deeper into love as every thing that you did and said pulled me deeper." Weiss smiled as Ruby finally stopped her crying but she kept the cloth within her hand as she returned it to hold Ruby's. Just in case. "Even now as you stand here in front of me in one of the most beautiful wedding dresses I've ever seen, I know you're still pulling me deeper into that warm, comfortable pit that I'd gladly call my home. I called you my knight in dented armour earlier, and you asked me to explain what I meant. So here is why you'll never be my knight in shining armour, and why that's a good thing…"

Weiss almost laughed as Ruby almost bounced in excitement. She was relieved that she didn't though as that would have made the next part of her vow slightly more difficult to say.

"A knight is a warrior and you are undoubtedly one of the best I've ever known. Always kind, honourable, just, and fair, you give all other knights a bad name with your shining silver example, yet your armour doesn't reflect the knight within with it's dents and scuffs and abrasions." Weiss felt she could see Ruby's eyes swirl in excitement the way they were now for all eternity and she'd never be bored. It was simply amazing that Ruby was standing there, listening as she was. "A knight in shining armour is untested, unreliable, and unworthy. Someone might call it a bad bet. Four terms that definitely do not fit you at all. And even if I didn't feel you earned your title long ago, you've definitely earned it today. Ruby Rose, my knight in dented armour. You've fought for me more than I ever thought anyone would ever fight. You've taken hits and risks and survived it all with a smile on your lips and a hand offered out to me. And you've been there every time I needed you and a fair few times I didn't know I did."

At this the crowd broke out in another laugh, this one more teary than the ones Ruby'd elicited. Weiss couldn't blame them as she refilled her lungs to continue onto what she knew would be the most emotional part of her vow.

"But I'm not the only one who needs a knight. And today, right here, right now, as we stand in front of family and friends and acquaintances, I want to make you a promise in return for the love you've given to me so freely and abundantly." Weiss paused to collect herself as she felt her jaw tremble. "I want to be your knight in dented armour. Whether I need to earn it over a month, a year, or my entire lifetime, I promise I will earn it, and I will make sure that I somehow repay you for all the love and happiness you give me with every word, touch, and look. I'll do it by being there to kiss you good-morning and guard you throughout the day, and then tuck you in at night before standing guard against the darkness. I'll never stop trying to earn your love because even though you've given me so much already, I still find myself wishing for more, and wanting to return your love every time you send a little my way. I love you my Ruby. My beautiful Rose. And I promise with all these people as my witness that I always will, with all of my heart."

"Do you accept these vows as Weiss's promise to hold you until you return to dust?" Ozpin asked Ruby who was once again tearing up.

"I do!" Ruby cried as she bowed her head while Weiss started patting at her tears again. "I love you so much, Weiss."

"Love you too, dolt." Weiss whispered, bringing Ruby back to herself a little as she chuckled.

"In that case I shall state that all legal issues in this marriage have been resolved and therefore in front of all those present, these two shall sign in their blood a covenant that shall never be broken." Ozpin continued, gesturing to the altar.

Weiss kept Ruby's hand in hers as she stepped up to the large white marble structure upon which there was that one important document with a single pen and piece of paper. She knew what was expected of her, from the information she'd received about the wedding the previous day, so she quickly whispered instructions to Ruby as they walked.

Weiss took the pen first and signed her name above her father's, then Ruby signed above her father's. Weiss pulled her weapon out of its sheath and carefully cut into Ruby's palm, drawing just enough blood to drip as Ruby willed her aura not to close the wound. Then Ruby pulled out her scythe, exposing a blade so as not to extend it indoors. Weiss offered Ruby the same hand she'd cut on the scythe-wielder and Ruby sliced through skin, drawing a decent flow of the red liquid.

Weiss instructed Ruby to hold her hand over her name and the contract absorbed the blood as drop after drop stained their names. Then Weiss took Ruby's hand as if in an arm wrestling match and they met each other's eyes as the blood flowing from their palms mixed.

"May you remain together until you return to dust." Ozpin recited. "You may now kiss."

Ruby was quicker on the jump than Weiss had expected her to be, pulling her in with their joined hands and hovering just a small bit away as she whispered with her breath ghosting across Weiss's lips.

"I love you Weiss." She smiled brilliantly and Weiss felt her heart stutter.

"Just kiss me, you dolt." She mumbled in response.

"I thought you were supposed to be repaying _my_ love?" Ruby teased in a whisper. "Maybe I should get you to give me something?"

"Dolt…" Weiss moved closer, her eyelids slowly closing. "I'll give you everything you want."

Weiss closed the remaining space and the explosion of her nerves lighting up at the contact dulled the applause and whistles she heard echoing throughout the church. The way Ruby's lips moved was familiar, yet unpredictable as it had always been since that first fateful kiss of the new year. In Ruby's arms, Weiss was able to forget everything and simply exist. Her body naturally reacting to Ruby's, her free arm using muscle memory to find it's way to Ruby's shoulders as Ruby's hand found her waist.

Ruby pulled back with the brightest smile Weiss had seen in a long time and couldn't help but return it before they moved their clasped hands over the contract to add the drops of their mixed blood that would complete the tradition. Weiss gently took the cloth her sister had offered and wiped the remaining blood from their hands as they let their aura begin the short repair. She returned the cloth before looking at Ozpin who nodded his understanding wordlessly. Ruby was offering her arm and Weiss felt the excitement she'd been holding in bubble to the surface as she giggled while they walked down the isle and out of the church to the waiting cars. Both girls were happier than they had been in a very long time.


	69. Chapter 69

"So I had an idea…" Ruby spoke as she opened the door for Weiss and helped her into the back of the limousine before getting in herself.

"About what?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"Well… about… stuff…" Ruby struggled and failed to explain her topic of idea, a blush dusting her smiling cheeks.

"There's a lot of stuff you could be talking about. You're going to have to narrow it down just a little." Weiss giggled as she leaned over into her wife. _I really like the sound of that. Ruby's my wife…_ She shook the thought away, there'd be lots of time to think about it later. "Did it have anything to do with dessert? Supper? The party? Beacon? My dad?"

"Let's see… no, no, kind of, no, and yes but that's something else." Ruby replied in response to the offered suggestions. "I was sort of thinking of what happens after…"

"After… the party?" Weiss asked, getting a nod from Ruby as answer. She let out a long breath as she cuddled closer to her wife, Ruby wrapping her in a warm hug in the process. "Well, we'll stay here for a night and tomorrow morning we'll be going to Vacuo for our honeymoon."

"Right…" Ruby nodded slowly, but her voice said that her question hadn't been answered. Nevertheless, she didn't ask again as the car started to move.

There was silence in the car for a while and Weiss found herself listening to Ruby's breathing as they both sunk into their own thoughts. Weiss again thought of the fact that they were now married and wouldn't have to deal with anything her father threw at them anymore. At least she hoped not. But she still found it strange to call Ruby her wife when she'd barely gotten used to calling her a girlfriend, and she realized she most likely hadn't even called her a fiance when they were engaged.

"Uhm… do you know what that is?" Ruby asked, noticing the large box that Weiss recognized as the present from Winter.

"Right, that's from Winter, she told me to open it with you." Weiss got up and pulled it over so it sat on her lap.

"What do you think's in it?" Ruby asked eagerly as Weiss pulled off the ribbon that kept the lid on.

"I have absolutely no idea, but I had a very bad feeling when she told me not to open it in front of her." Weiss stated as she tipped the lid off. She froze when she saw what was presented in several smaller boxes graced with images that left no doubt in her mind as to the natures of their contents. They lined the interior of the gift box, artfully, Weiss noticed. As if her sister had spent a considerable amount of time or money to give an overall impression. And an impression is exactly what Weiss had received.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, not being able to see from the way Weiss was holding the lid. Weiss was thankful that Ruby wasn't trying to look into the small opening.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing." Weiss closed the box as her blush started to bloom, and started to put it back to the floor. Until Ruby caught her arm, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Weiss, I know that tone." Ruby scolded, her voice serious for once. "Let me see what it is."

"You really don't want to see this." Weiss replied, still not moving from her position. "It's rather inappro-"

"I'm not a kid, Weiss. If I can win a duel with a middle-aged guy for you, I can handle whatever is in that box." Ruby said as they stopped in front of their destination.

Weiss glanced out the window at the grand hotel that held the dinner that had prompted her into denting a tree. They were logically the first ones there, but they definitely wouldn't be for long. Weiss turned away from Ruby and ordered the driver to leave them and turned back to her wife. Ruby was watching her expectantly and she finally relented, passing the box to the younger girl in silence.

Ruby opened the box carefully but quickly. She seemed to be taking in the several items that the box contained. Hesitantly, she set the lid on the opposite bench of seats as she lowered the box to the floor so they both had a clear view of the smaller boxes within.

"I think you might have to explain a few of these to me." Ruby stated as she slowly reached into the box for one of the items that had caught her curiosity.

"R-Ruby!" Weiss smacked her hand out of the box as if it were poisoned. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Well, Yang gave me a package of bacon inside a jewelry box on my birthday and that didn't end well. Just a precaution since our sisters seemed to start getting along." Ruby shrugged at Weiss and put her hand back in and opened the box she'd been aiming for. "Nope, it's definitely what it looks like…. Is it armour?"

"I'm going to kill Winter." Weiss dropped her head into her hands as Ruby pulled the item out and held it up. Weiss was thankful that the windows on the limo were tinted heavily enough to make it impossible to see in from the outside. "Ruby, put those down. It seems we need to have a little chat."

"Alright, shoot!" Ruby dropped the item with a heavy thump back into the box and leaned back against the seat. Weiss sighed in frustration.

_I really wish my sister had more tact._ She thought as she took a deep breath and started to explain what the items in the box were in as little detail as humanly possible to get the point across. She wasn't very successful. _And a better sense of humor._

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**A/N:**

**Thanks again for reading, and sorry this took so long. I just wanted to make sure I was committed to the avenue of ending I had originally planned for this fic before I started posting. (No it's not the end yet, just getting closer is all.)**

**I plan to post the chapters as I write them, so look for more updates very soon! But a warning for those of you who haven't seen this coming from the countless veiled hints I used in earlier chapters that may have toed the line between a T rating and M rating: This fic is changing to M as of chapter 70, so you can't say you weren't warned. (No lemon yet, for those few that I know are hoping for it ;)**

**And as always, let me know what you think: of the story, the sky, current events, whatever! I always love hearing from you all and I hope not too many of you are turned away by the rating change as I move into the final act of this story!**


	70. Chapter 70

**A/N:**

**Well, rating is M now for reference to adult material. And props to Master Kosa for calling this. But from here on out, I've got nothing put aside so everything will be freshly written before I post it. As always, enjoy!**

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"I can't believe she had them monogrammed…" Weiss sighed as she looked with Ruby at the matching pair of garments sitting inside the box.

"I'm more surprised that she actually found a place to buy them if they're really old." Ruby replied, also lost in the glittering red R and sparkling blue W that shone on the front of the metal pieces. "Plus, the sizes are right."

"Chastity belts were common hundreds of years ago, but these were obviously custom made…" Weiss commented dryly. "Can we please move on from this topic now?"

"Sure… I guess I just pictured them differently…. And you have to admit, they do look like armour. But what's the rest? Are we doing an interrogation?" Ruby asked, dropping the two items back into their respective boxes. She picked out another item and flipped it around in her hand. "And this looks like a big version of Zwei's collar. Why does it have a ruby on it though? Shouldn't it have a place to hang the tag? Or is it something else that just looks the same?"

"R-Ruby, give me that." Weiss didn't wait and snatched the item from Ruby's hand before replacing it in it's box. "D-don't take any of the other stuff out and I'll t-tell you what they're for, okay?"

"Okay." Ruby deflated slightly but perked up again when Weiss wrapped her arm around her back.

"It's really not appropriate." Weiss began nervously. "All of these are… do I really have to say?"

"No, but I want you to." Ruby replied while she pulled Weiss closer to her side. Weiss felt her reluctance crumble as Ruby's hand slowly rubbed at her waist.

"Th-they're all… s-sex… things." She couldn't keep the stutter from her whisper as a fresh blush bloomed across her face.

"See? Not too hard, is it?" Ruby giggled distantly, as if she was thinking. She pointed to the thinnest of the small boxes and continued. "I could put that much together myself because of that one, but I don't get the rest."

"I really, _really_ don't want to get into this with you." Weiss was trying to fan her face that felt as if it was burning off. "I'm going to kill my sister."

"Weiss, it's fine. I'll just ask Yang, you know she'll answer me." Ruby argued slyly. "Or I'm sure Uncle Qrow knows about these things too."

"Nope, not happening! Fine! If you want to know so badly then I'll tell you." Weiss snapped, her patience finally worn out. She didn't need the promise of Yang's teasing or Qrow possibly attacking Winter to know that everyone probably had the better chance to survive if she was the one to explain. "Those are restraints, and that's a blindfold, and that's a collar. It looks like it has an attachable ring so you can use a rope with the collar like a leash. You already know what _that_ is, so I'm not going into it. And then that last box has a lot of rope to use on the… _other_ pieces. The last box looks like chain for the same thing as the rope."

"Hmm…" Ruby nodded with a grin before continuing sarcastically. "I see I'll just have to use my imagination with your stunning descriptions."

"What did you want from me?" Weiss replied with a pout. "And be careful how you respond or I might just make you wear that collar for the next week."

"I was sort of hoping for more than a collar…" Ruby breathed into Weiss's neck. She let out a shuddering breath as Ruby's words spurred her nerves into overdrive. Every slight movement and breath set her skin on fire as she kept repeating in her head the fact that Ruby was still a child. _Even if we want to… and we are married now…. No! That's no excuse!_

"Ruby, as much as I'm sure you're having fun right now, I'd really like to just close this box, forget it even exists, and go into the party. People will start to wonder where we are." Weiss said, already holding the lid to the box.

"Alright." Weiss sighed in relief and placed the lid firmly on the box, wrapping the ribbon over it to tie it shut. "Just one last question… I knew what some of that was for because of Yang being Yang, but how do _you_ know what all that stuff is for? I mean, I can't really see Winter telling you about this sort of thing."

"Wha… um…" Weiss coughed in embarrassment as she looked down at her hands. "I was reading one of Blake's books and was… curious about what they… looked like, so…"

She picked up her scroll and gave it a generic wave before putting it away again. Ruby laughed and pulled her into a hug that just made the temperature in her head skyrocket. That definitely wasn't one of her proudest moments, but at least it saved her confusion in terms of the gift. But that didn't change the fact that it was still extremely inappropriate even if they were married. They'd only been dating almost a month and this was a bit extreme.

"How did you know about the di-… that one." Weiss changed her wording mid-sentence, not wanting to say that word if she could help it. Thankfully Ruby picked up the reference quickly.

"Uh, well Yang was going off to Beacon and this was before I was at that shop where I met Glynda…" Ruby explained into Weiss's neck so she didn't have to face her. "Yang sort of gave me one so I, and quote, '_wouldn't be lonely_ when she moved out.'"

"What!" Weiss couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

"Yeah… she said it would also keep me from… uh…" Ruby hesitated, trying to find a way to phrase the next part in a way that wasn't questionable. Needless to say, she failed horribly. "To keep me from… getting a real one…."

"Right…" Weiss pushed Ruby away, not making eye contact. Even though they'd both embarrassed themselves, Weiss didn't feel uncomfortable in the silence. She took a deep breath and looked at Ruby, her eyes meeting silver as they turned her way. "I have a proposal for you."

"Um…" Ruby hesitated, obviously still hung up on the topic they'd just left behind.

"Not a word of this conversation ever gets spoken of again." Weiss stated simply, feeling her blush slowly start to abate. It still had a long way to go before it vanished completely.

"I am definitely on board with that." Ruby laughed as she leaned in and captured Weiss's lips in between hers.

Weiss didn't even think as her arms wrapped around Ruby's shoulders and she pressed herself deeper into the kiss that set her nerves on fire at every slight movement from Ruby. She felt a dull throb in her core and gasped, allowing Ruby's tongue to dart into her mouth.

"Mmm, Ruby." Weiss moaned as she pushed Ruby back. "I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"Heh, yeah. Sorry." Ruby backed up, her breathing laboured just as much as her partner's. "I think we should get some fresh air."

"That is an idea I can get behind." Weiss nodded as Ruby opened the door and got out. She reached back and offered her hand to Weiss and helped her out of the car. They walked hand in hand around the side of the building to where the ball room was. It was such a nice day that it would have been a waste to walk through the building.

As they came to the doors that stood open, Weiss could see the number of people inside had already grown quite large. And there was a clear divide between the groups that had been invited. First were the sour looking Noar family that attended simply because it was against social convention to accept an invitation and not attend, though Weiss could argue it was also against the same societal rules to steal another's bride.

Next were Ruby's family and a few friends. Weiss was able to spot Nora hanging off Ren's arm while she laughed at some joke. She guessed they came once they finished their mission, judging by their combat attire and overall scruffy looks.

Finally, merging the two groups were the business men and their wives that all had some sort of social connection to her father and had been lucky enough to receive an invitation. Most were smiling and laughing at what Weiss guessed was some over-used joke that wasn't actually funny enough to incite a real laugh. But she noticed a few were talking to Pyrrha and Jaune, and a few others were with the Noar's.

She hadn't noticed her and Ruby had stopped at the door until she felt Ruby's grip on her hand tighten reassuringly for a moment.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked quietly as she leaned into Weiss.

"Yeah… just don't go too far, okay?" Weiss replied as she spotted her father walking in their direction with a pair of business men on his heels. "I'm not going to let this turn into some business dinner."

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving your side. Ever." Ruby giggled and gave her wife a quick peck on the cheek.

"What am I going to do with you?" Weiss replied with a smile at Ruby's antics even though the conversation from the car still nagged at her. That Ruby had been almost… suggestive, yet here was the one she knew and had fallen in love with. _How is it possible that you're everything I could ever think to ask for, and more?_

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**A/N:**

**Just a quick note for those of you who've been waiting patiently for RWBY: Bloody Snow: Volume 3... chapter 1 is posted and should be available within the next hour or so here:  
****s/12021863/1/RWBY-Bloody-Snow-Volume-3**

**Links to Volumes 1 and 2 are at the bottom or on my profile as well.**

**Thank you for reading, until next time!**


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N:**

**Sorry for taking so long. I rewrote this chapter at least a dozen times because I couldn't decide how much of the actual reception I wanted to put in here, or how much would actually happen there. So I feel that this is a sufficient conclusion to the wedding arc. Next chapter (promise I'll post REALLY SOON!) will be the honeymoon and basically the last part of this story to just tie things up. I'll be hopefully posting new chapters quickly now that this hurdle is behind me and work has once again given me a lull.**

**Hope you all enjoy! And let me know what you think!**

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Ruby stared blankly out into space. It wasn't that she was bored per se… this had been one of the most exciting days in her short life so far, except that the current lull in events made her itch to move or do anything that wasn't stand beside Weiss as her father introduced her to business partner after business partner who'd been invited to her wedding. Weiss had been pulled into a conversation with her father no sooner than the doors had opened, and now everyone was talking about some company and a guy who sounded sick, or at least that's what she gathered in her zoned-out state. Not that it didn't interest her, but after everything that had happened, it was dreadfully boring and slow. She wondered how long this was going to go on before she could do something fun again. Or take a nap. She was fairly tired from all the stress and the use of her aura earlier in the day. The only problem was that she knew Weiss wouldn't go for her idea.

She mused over those thoughts and other less fascinating ones as she waited patiently at Weiss's side, nodding her head whenever someone glanced at her to be polite, but otherwise remaining still and silent. She was enjoying the feel of holding her wife's hand and more specifically the warmth that it exuded when she felt a pair of lips brush hers and her mind snapped back to reality to find herself alone with Weiss while the party slowly rolled on around them.

"Are you done now?" Ruby asked hopefully while taking a quick glance around.

"Yes, and did you even listen to a word of the conversation after you said hi?" Weiss asked, wondering if Ruby had actually zoned out or had just appeared to.

"Um… I sort of stopped paying attention when your dad started saying something about some guy that couldn't come." Ruby admitted guiltily.

"Then you missed the part where they want to make a movie about us." Weiss told Ruby.

"What? That's so awesome!" Ruby squealed excitedly. "We're doing it right? What are we doing? Is it an action movie? I totally wanna meet Spruce Willis!"

"Hold on, Ruby." Weiss laughed at Ruby's excitement. "It's a documentary, I'm guessing they want to interview us about our lives, how we met, the problems we faced, and why we married so soon. Sort of like those shows you and Yang never want to watch with Blake and myself."

"Oh…" Ruby's face fell. "That still sounds sort of cool. I always wanted to be a main character in something."

Weiss giggled as she pulled Ruby around the edge of the room to start heading to the table that was already being filled with dishes for dinner. "I bet if we ask, they'll let you be your own stunt double."

"Ohmygod! Really?" Ruby jumped once again excited.

"I don't see why not, you already did it for real, why would it be hard to do it again for pretend?" Weiss smirked over at Ruby. "Plus, I'd much rather watch you on the big screen rather than someone trying to be you."

"Dawww, Weiss…" Ruby blushed but giggled a little at the heiress's honesty.

"Anyways, lets eat so we can get out of here faster." Weiss pulled out a chair and pulled Ruby in front of it before pushing it in.

"Aren't you taking your vow to heart!" A shout startled Weiss as she looked away from her blushing wife to find the rest of their joined family standing behind Yang.

"Why wouldn't she? It's so cute to watch." Winter supplied to nods from the others.

"Come on, don't tease them too much." Taiyang said stepping around Yang to scoop Weiss into a hug and simultaneously ruffle Ruby's hair. "I haven't had my turn yet."

"Dad, stop it!" Ruby pushed his hand off and pouted up at him as he released Weiss.

"I'll give you till after desert." He replied with a grin as he sat down beside Ruby. Yang and Winter took their seats as Qrow came up to the pair.

"Hey Uncle Qrow, what's up?" Ruby asked when he stopped face to face with Weiss. He was swaying slightly and ignored or didn't hear his niece.

"So, you're part of the family now, huh?" He spoke to Weiss as if it was an internal monologue. Weiss noticed Taiyang moving to be ready to jump up as if he expected trouble but Qrow didn't move, simply watching the heiress. With a quick glance to Ruby, Weiss answered as an idea popped into her head.

"I guess so… Uncle Qrow." She held back the nervous giggle that threatened to come forth as Qrow raised one eyebrow, in surprise or incredulity she couldn't tell. After a solid moment, a grin broke out on his face as he let out a bark of laughter.

"You know, I think I might like you after all. Your sis ain't too bad either." He patted her heavily on her shoulder as he made his way past to his chair at the end of the row, ruffling Ruby's hair to her protests as he passed. He stopped when Weiss's father walked in front of the table. "I still don't like you though."

"Nor I you." Weiss's father responded without turning his head.

"Well, you can't win them all." Yang laughed while she waved Blake over from where she was talking at JNPR's table.

Weiss sighed and took her seat next to Ruby. Just from the expression on her face she could tell Ruby was happy to have everyone there, but she'd really rather be anywhere else. Weiss kept her voice down to a whisper as she leaned over under the pretense of giving Ruby a small kiss. "Dinner, two dances, some visiting with JNPR, and a quick talk with Professor Ozpin. Then we can leave."

Ruby's relieved smile was all the answer she needed and she gave her the promised kiss before returning to her place. Mr. Schnee stood and started the speeches with the announcement that the first course would be served. Then he spoke his speech about the company as he'd planned, simply replacing the male pronouns and Bruce's name with his daughter's. There was very little about the actual couple in the speech, so even Weiss found herself zoning out when Ruby had discreetly started trying to distract her with small movements of her feet as she attempted to touch her leg.

The next few speeches seemed to have been organized last minute as they were rather short but Weiss actually couldn't believe that anyone had even thought to get people to talk about her and Ruby. Taiyang said a few words, mostly about Ruby and he got the crowd to laugh with a joke about Ruby's love for weaponry. Professor Port did a small speech as well, talking mostly about their team dynamic at Beacon and how far they'd come since he first met the two while they were in the middle of a fight. Of course, he couldn't stop his old tendencies and ended up with some story from his youth, but it was still mercifully short compared to his lectures, so Weiss counted that as a win. She felt her stomach start to growl and hoped the talking would end soon as everyone except Ruby and herself had started eating. Port left the podium and Weiss caught Ruby shove a small bite into her mouth and was about to do the same when Yang stood up.

She took the podium and Weiss replaced her fork on her plate as she turned her complete attention to Yang as she waved Blake over from her spot next to Winter. When Blake arrived at her side, Yang stepped forward and raised her voice for the crowd.

"So I know most of you are pretty much bored out of your minds with speeches at this point, so we put both of ours into one to save everyone a little heartache." Yang announced to a few shocked looks and claps from the audience and an 'atta girl' from one random person in a back table.

"For those who don't know, we're the teammates of the two short ones over there." Blake made a gesture to the table, making Weiss realize that both her and Ruby sat almost an entire head below everyone else at the head table. The crowd laughed a little as Weiss felt a blush come back slightly. She was starting to get worried about what else the two were going to say.

"Now normally, you would hear from the siblings of both the brides, but I was told I qualify as both now, so I'll have to try extra hard." Yang winked at Weiss who glanced at Winter as she chuckled at Yang's joke. "So I've known Ruby since she was only this tall. But I promise that was more than a month ago, scouts honor!"

Weiss sighed as Yang measured a height equal to her waist and took Ruby's hand to give it a squeeze to help cope with the constant jokes. Ruby squeezed her hand back and she let it all go, it was in Yang's nature after all, and Blake was no better once Yang got her going. Not to mention she could have sworn she'd seen Blake drinking something Yang had given her while she was meeting her future business partners.

"Her first love was a cookie and her second a scythe. Turns out she looked in the right direction when her third became something that actually had a pulse." Yang paused as the audience was finally catching on to the type of speech she was making, and was laughing along with them. "We spent a long time at Beacon trying to get along with each other, so naturally we have somehow managed not to kill each other even though the four of us sleep in the same room. Though I don't envy Ruby when Weiss starts one of her rants. But seriously, I didn't like Weiss for the first few months and I'd be lying if I said everything is fluffy pink unicorns between us now, but there's one big thing I've learned. That is that if someone wants to take one for the team and deal with the angry politician, it's to give them all the support you can… because otherwise you have to deal with them yourself."

Laughs echoed around the room and Yang waved and gave a short bow, obviously proud that her politician joke had gone over well. In Weiss's opinion, it was rather risky considering about three quarters of the crowd were politicians of one kind or another.

"So I'm not as special as the hair commercial over here, but I have had the privilege of witnessing the very beginning of the relationship between the brides and most moments thereafter." Blake spoke to the crowd. "I'll be honest in saying that even in my wildest dreams, I wouldn't have even pictured them as a couple because of how much they seemed to fight in the beginning. Though since we're in a combat school it _is_ a little difficult to identify whether they were actually fighting, or whether they were just being studious. But lets be honest, sixteen hours of studying a day is just a little bit crazy."

The crowd laughed at the well placed joke and Blake continued. "But it turns out that's what they were, crazy for each other. And looking back it's almost comical how I hadn't seen this coming from their very first encounter when they detonated a cloud of dust and permanently scarred the stone near the landing pad at Beacon."

"But hey, at least they don't have to worry about leaving their mark anymore!" Yang piped up, drawing more laughs.

"But moving on to a more serious note, the way those two act as a team surprised me at first. It was like watching a team that had been working together for years even though they barely knew each other. And I'd just like to say that they honestly gave me my relationship goal for my lifetime." Blake stated with a smile over at the two newly weds.

"I like to call it 'Shut up and do what I tell you.'" Yang said to another chorus of laughs. "But seriously, Ruby, I never thought you'd get along with anyone as well as you get along with Weiss, and really, I can say the same for Weiss considering your attitude at the beginning of the year."

"Neither of you are perfect, but you don't have to be." Blake said, finishing Yang's thought. "You're perfect for each other and that's what really counts."

"So party tonight and go on your honeymoon, and we'll promise not to completely trash the dorm by the time you get back." Yang said with a hand in the air and one over her heart. "And when you get back we'd just like to request one thing."

"That is, please remember that we live there too and don't want to know how many excuses you two can come up with when we walk in to find you cleaning each other's weapons, so to speak." Blake said with an ever so slight grin to her voice.

"On that note, we'll offer some sage advice my Uncle Qrow told us to give in lieu of another speech: Ruby, no matter what, Weiss is always going to be right, and even if she's wrong, she'll still be right so don't make things difficult." Yang said. "And Weiss, there's nothing you can do. Accept it. Ruby is always going to be Ruby, so just go with the flow. If you don't like the direction she's going, just point her somewhere else. As long as you follow her to pick up the stuff she knocks over then everything will work out. And finally to both of you: you're going to fight. That much is a given, but even when you're mad at each other don't ever say anything you'd regret, because at the end of the day you know that you wouldn't ever mean it."

"Here's the part where we sit down, shut up, and let you eat." Blake concluded, pulling Yang to her chair and returning to her own.

"Here here!" Ruby raised her wine glass to the crowd who started laughing again as everyone raised their glasses in a toast. She took a generous gulp from her glass and put it down before whispering to Weiss under the noise of everyone starting their own conversations. "So, can we actually eat now? Or do I have to engrave this food into my brain for a second lifetime?"

"Oh, hush you." Weiss offered her fork to Ruby who happily took the offered piece of chicken. "Be happy that this is only going to be one course because I convinced Father that more would be a waste of time."

"But didn't you say no business earlier?" Ruby asked inquisitively.

"I'd rather spend my time dancing than eating, what about you?" Weiss asked with a slight blush.

"But you hate dancing." Ruby argued, remembering Weiss's confession from new year's eve when they'd first gotten together.

"Unless it's with you." Weiss replied with a grin before turning back to her food.

She was surprised when Ruby gave her a kiss on the cheek before returning to her own food. "It sound's like you're happy."

"Only because of you." Weiss replied, feeling her blush return to full force but even that couldn't sway the joy she felt as she thought about Ruby as her wife. "My beautiful wife."

"Come on, Weiss! That's not fair!" Ruby blushed hard at the compliment and Weiss giggled in response as she was ready to start concentrating on her food. After a moment, Ruby looked up at her and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now eat up, it looks like they'll be starting the music soon."

* * *

As it happened, Weiss had been right. She'd just gotten half way through her plate and Ruby had just finished hers when her father leaned over to instruct her to get ready. Weiss didn't waste time as the first dance was one of the very few things she actually wanted to do at this whole affair. It was really this dance that made Weiss feel that the entire day hadn't just been a product of her imagination.

She pulled Ruby from her chair with only a small amount of persuasion and led her to the dance floor with her arm linked comfortably around Ruby's. She stopped in the middle and turned to face Ruby who was looking nervously at the crowd as they started to take notice of the wedded couple about to start their dance.

"Ruby, calm down." Weiss whispered, making Ruby jump slightly and turn her eyes to Weiss's. "It's just like any other dance."

"But everyone's watching. What if I mess up?" Ruby asked, her eyes darting to Weiss's father who remained seated at the head table.

"Ruby…" Weiss gently cupped Ruby's cheek with her hand so she'd look back at her. "It's just you and me. If you mess up, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're here, standing with me."

"O-okay, but-"

"No buts, Ruby. That is everything that matters." Weiss closed the distance slightly as Ruby's eyes captivated her. She could almost physically feel the trust and love behind them simply by gazing into their depths. She broke out of her gaze as the music started and she took a deep breath to calm whatever nerves she might have had left to give Ruby the strength she knew she was lacking at the moment. "I love you Ruby. And I'd be honoured if I could have this dance."

"Okay." Ruby's voice cracked and her cheeks blushed hard as she gave the barest of nods to her wife.

"Then follow me." Weiss replied, taking Ruby's hands and placing them in the proper positions.

The two started slowly and it wasn't long before Ruby had the basic steps down and Weiss added the turn. Minutes passed as the song continued and Ruby's eyes never left Weiss's except to check her feet every now and again. Weiss couldn't help but feel a sense of calm and completion to the long fiasco that had plagued her life up until this day, and that was all thanks to the girl in her arms. The song ended and Weiss pulled Ruby to a gentle stop. Ruby pulled Weiss in and their lips met in a searing kiss that set Weiss's skin ablaze and her heart racing, even as Ruby pulled away, her eyes dilated and her cheeks flaming at the very public display they'd just made.

Cheers from the crowd didn't penetrate their bubble as they continued their wordless conversation with their eyes. But it didn't last long as Weiss felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, indicating her father was ready to continue with the dances. She slowly released Ruby who gave her a small smile as she too turned to her own father.

That dance was almost too slow in Weiss's opinion, but it wasn't all bad. Half way through she had switched partners with Ruby and danced with Taiyang. Ruby seemed slightly tense as she took Mr. Schnee's hand and started to dance, but there was nothing Weiss could do at this point. She just hoped that her father had been telling the truth about trying to come to terms with her marriage.

* * *

Ruby had been slightly surprised when she found herself switching dance partners with Weiss. She was suddenly nervous about making a good impression and tried her best to make all the steps correctly as Mr. Schnee led her around the dance floor.

"Is this your first time waltzing?" He asked quietly as they turned yet again so Ruby could see Weiss and her father across the dance floor.

"Yeah, sorry." Ruby replied. She knew it was obvious and now she felt bad about looking dumb to everyone else who almost obviously knew how to dance.

"You know, I told Weiss that I wanted to start making things right between us." He spoke quietly. Ruby didn't answer, there was nothing she could say about that. "And I'd like to start by giving you an explanation of my apology earlier."

"Oh, um… okay?" Ruby didn't know what had brought this on, but she figured it was nice to see Mr. Schnee making an effort to fix his wrongdoings. "You said something about your semblance, right?"

"Yes. During the duel, I'm sure you thought you heard Weiss tell you to give up." Mr. Schnee clarified. "I'm sure you know that every member of the Schnee family has control over glyphs. Some of us, like Weiss and myself, have complete control over their properties while others, like Winter, do not. I created a small glyph that vibrated to create sound very close to your head so you'd think Weiss was yelling, and nobody would hear except you. For that I apologize as I have been shown the error of my actions."

"Okay…" Ruby nodded, still not exactly satisfied with the words he'd spoken. "Can I ask one question?"

"You may." He responded simply.

"What do you think of this whole thing? I mean me marrying Weiss." Ruby asked. It was the one thing she couldn't really gage from the neutral expression on his face.

"I… do not know." He responded. Ruby could feel like there was something else he wanted to say, so she remained silent. After a long moment of turning as they danced, he sighed. "You must understand that I've been a part of a society where homosexuality is strongly looked down upon since my birth. I was taught beliefs that are being rejected in modern society. It is difficult for me to simply abandon what I've known to be true my whole life, but for the sake of my daughter, I'm willing to try. I would very much like it if we could develop a relationship, if only a civil one, for the time being."

Ruby nodded absently as she took the information in. It was definitely a step in the right direction, and she wasn't about to push Weiss's father out of their lives due to the way he was raised. She was old enough to know that early teachings had massive impacts on people as they aged. Even Weiss's view of the faunus had been an excellent example, and she'd decided to open her mind in order to repair relations with Blake. It wasn't really unrealistic to believe that if Weiss could accept Blake, Mr. Schnee could accept Ruby and Weiss as a married couple.

So she took a deep breath and said the words she knew Weiss would never say to him after everything he'd done, but needed to be said. "I think that would be good. Weiss needs a father, and even though my dad would be happy to step in, he's not a replacement for you. But you need to agree to work on the problems you have otherwise nothing will change. I can only support Weiss's decisions regarding her family, and I will. Regardless of what that means for you."

"Well spoken, Ruby. I understand completely." He smiled and they finished their dance in relatively comfortable silence. Ruby rejoined Weiss as she finished dancing with Taiyang, and gave her a large hug as she pulled her over to JNPR's table while other couples took to the dance floor as it was now open to everyone else. It seemed as though everything might just be okay in time. Something she hoped there'd be no short supply of now that she had more than she could have ever imagined.


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N:**

**Sorry for the long time between updates! I should be back to updating at least weekly now.**

**Also, new cover by my artist LovelyLittleRose who has also worked on the covers for Bloody Snow Volumes 1 and 3. **

* * *

Weiss woke to the gentle voice of a flight attendant who was apologizing for waking her. She informed her that they were about to land and asked her to wake Ruby who was apparently also asleep, not that Weiss could blame her wife. They had been up at an ungodly hour to catch this flight, and they were honestly exhausted from their wedding the previous day. She thought back to everything that had happened and couldn't keep a smile from stretching her lips at the support all her relatively new friends had shown. Even Yang had started joking about the 'first night' once she started sharing her uncle's flask part way into the evening. Weiss shook her head to clear those impure thoughts as she remembered the all too embarrassing reference to Winter's 'gift' that Yang had made while they were at JNPR's table.

Yang had given them each a key that she had no doubts were for the chastity belts as she'd given a very obvious wink to the newlyweds. She remembered Nora bothering them for the following fifteen minutes trying to find out what they were for, to no avail. Thankfully, Ren finally managed to reign the girl in, saving Weiss from getting a headache. Unfortunately she was almost certain that the rest of the other team had known what they keys were for, or at least what they implied. Pyrrha's demure smile and Ren's attempts to control Nora were the most accurate reactions that showed their understanding, though Jaune seemed a little misguided until he voiced his suspicions of them being "the keys to each other's hearts."

Yang had cleared up his misunderstanding relatively quickly when she'd replied that his statement sounded dirty. It was honestly shocking how quickly he could pick up some hints but not others like the ones Pyrrha had been sending his way the entire evening. Thankfully, it was a topic to be quickly dropped thereafter, and the conversation pleasantly turned to their plans for the following week that would be a honeymoon for the newlyweds.

Weiss smiled as she looked over her sleeping wife who was cuddled comfortably into her side, her belt still fastened from falling asleep before the plane had even left the gate. She had dark bags under her eyes that testified to the lack of sleep she'd experienced over the last while and Weiss couldn't help but feel that it was her job to ensure Ruby was well rested over this week of break that Beacon's headmaster had approved to avoid the potential of stress induced ailments should they not have any time to relax. Even he had encouraged them to take longer than one week, but Weiss knew they wouldn't be comfortable doing so in the middle of the year when they were the busiest in almost all their classes. Even a single week could put them days behind on work that they'd need to catch up on. But Weiss had decided that they wouldn't study until they returned.

It wasn't one of the most responsible decisions she'd ever made, and it surprised her when Ruby had initially argued the decision. But in exchange for agreeing to work together once they returned to catch up, Ruby was willing to send the books in her locker back to their school rather than bring them in her luggage. Of course, she didn't do the same with her weapon, but Weiss didn't have a problem with that since she had brought her rapier along as well, more for peace of mind than security as her father had paid for more than enough of that already.

Weiss felt the craft start to descend, and buckled herself while being careful not to disturb Ruby's sleep. She still found it hard to believe all the events that had transpired since new years. If anyone had told her before she started Beacon that she'd meet someone like Ruby and fall in love with her, she would have thought them crazy. If they had told her how hard she'd fight to stay in that person's life and get married to them as a result, she would have felt bad for their stupidity. And if anyone had told her how happy the whole affair would make her, she wouldn't have hesitated in calling them a liar. But she knew now how wrong she would have been.

Even simply sitting next to Ruby as their plane cut through the air, approaching the ground to land, she felt a sense of comfort and happiness that she had craved at various times throughout her childhood. And it was all thanks to Ruby that she was able to experience it. It was the comfort of promises made and vows spoken in moments of honesty as well as the unspoken promises that were equal if not more powerful simply because of the emotion behind them. It was the happiness that said today would be a good day and there was nothing in existence that could change that, and it was all because Ruby would be with her. Talking, laughing, and, at the end, cuddling with her as they awaited the next day. Overall, Weiss felt that the stress of the previous weeks was already sapped from her soul and now all she needed was time with Ruby to fill the void it had left.

She carefully leaned against Ruby again and closed her eyes. They would land and need to wake up soon enough, but right now she needed to listen to Ruby's calm breathing and feel the gentle warmth of her wife. Right now, all that mattered was sleep.


	73. Chapter 73

"Weeeiiiisssss… I wanna go _do_ something!" Ruby whined as she smacked her head into the window of the limo that was carting them and their luggage from the airport, across Vacuo's largely desert countryside, to the house that Winter had told Weiss about prior to her wedding. Weiss had conveniently neglected to mention it to Ruby, meaning she'd be in for a big shock just as Weiss had experienced when she learned about it.

"We are doing something, Ruby. We're taking our luggage to where we'll be staying for the week." Weiss replied. She stealthily pulled out her scroll to check the map she had open. It wouldn't be much longer until they were near their house. Winter had given her the point on the map that was located within a small inlet, a dozen kilometers wide, along the coast. The land that reached out to the bay blocked it from the popular beaches on either side by what the scale told her was a fair amount of cliff.

"But the beach is right _there_!" Ruby argued, pointing out the window to hundreds of families that were lazing on blankets on the soft sand or splashing in the water. "I've never even seen a beach this big!"

"It goes up the entire coast. This is just one of the more popular spots. There's far fewer grimm in the surrounding forests." Weiss spoke about what she could recall from the travel brochures she'd viewed in passing while she'd waited for the wedding and her plan to start. "We can come back after if that's what you want."

"Why don't we just stop here and go to the place we're staying later?" Ruby asked as she slid back into the seat and leaned into Weiss's shoulder. "I can think of a few ways to… _convince_ you…"

Weiss gulped at the way she looked at her, the implication of Ruby's whisper heavy in the air as shining silver met blue. She couldn't force any words out, but her blood had no trouble rushing to her cheeks. She noticed a similar blush adorn Ruby's face and looked away before taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Ruby, I know… just…."

"Yeah, I know…."

Weiss waited for any continuation of the response but none came.

"I'm-"

Ruby silenced Weiss's lips with her own. After a few seconds, she pulled back to look at her wife seriously.

"Listen, I know. I really, really, really know. Okay?" Ruby took a deep breath and backed into her own seat. Weiss shook her head to clear it from the haze the kiss had brought to her mind.

"I'm sorry Ruby… it's just…" Weiss thought what she wanted to say, but it never left her lips. Instead, only the same words from the previous night echoed back through her lips. "Not the right time… okay?"

Ruby shrugged and looked around as the limo carrying them entered a tunnel in a very steep hillside. She sighed and leaned herself back onto Weiss's shoulder. It wasn't really anyone's fault, after all. Even if they were married, they'd only been dating for a month. That's not to say that they hadn't had their fair share of trials, the feeling of being put through the wringer coming to mind, but for all the development Ruby knew they'd done as a couple, they must have skipped over some of the more subtle things that required more than an hour of relaxation.

"Never say sorry for something like that, okay?" Ruby said, her voice half between the one she used when commanding her team, and the one she used with Weiss mostly when they were cuddling. If she was honest with herself, she wouldn't have had the guts to raise the subject in the first place if she knew there was a serious chance Weiss would agree. Heck, she was so nervous about it she'd probably resist just like Weiss was doing now. _After all, didn't I do the same thing when we were in patch?_

Ruby smiled when Weiss wrapped her arm around her shoulders and rested her head on top of Ruby's own. It was overall a nice moment, which was unfortunately shattered when light flooded back in through the tinted windows. Weiss's body went stiff and she hit the button on the nearby remote to roll down the Ruby's window. Ruby sat back up and looked out to see… nothing.

No sand castles, no blankets, no umbrellas, no people, no boardwalk, nothing.

"What's this place?" Ruby asked, moving to the window to get a better view. It surprised her when she felt Weiss hug her from behind and turn her head slightly, pressing her cheek into Ruby's.

"Look over there." Weiss whispered through the roaring wind that blew in the window, making a mess of their hair.

Ruby turned and saw a single small house sitting on the sand about a minute's drive away. It stood on the very edge of the smooth sand and the road they were traveling on, approximately half way between the tunnel they'd just left and another one that was barely visible in the heat distorted distance along the road.

"Is that where we're going?" Ruby asked hopefully.

Weiss refrained from answering and instead gave a slight squeeze with her arms around Ruby's waist as the car started to slow down. It stopped in front of the small house and Ruby looked up at it curiously as the newlyweds stepped out of the car. The driver brought out their luggage before presenting Weiss with a set of two keys, an envelope, and a slight bow.

"Thank you." Weiss took the keys and walked to the door with Ruby on her heels. Weiss stopped when she placed the key in the lock and took a deep breath. "Ruby, welcome home."

She pushed the door open and stepped into the simple entryway. She didn't know exactly what she'd been expecting, but it was very plain compared to the norm for her father. The furnishings were simple rather than intricately carved decorations, and the stairway to her right that led to the small second floor had a minimally designed railing and plain baseboards. There were no visible chandeliers, in their place a few simple fixtures enclosed in glass domes hung from the ceiling. To the left, a doorway led to what looked like a sitting room with a fireplace and a television mounted over it, directly across from a couch and a plain rectangular coffee table. Two chairs were placed in corners and a wide opening led to a kitchen with a large island to separate it from the sitting room. Straight ahead, Weiss could see a set of doors that led to a terrace that extended out over the beginning of the sand, and three other doors that led to the kitchen and to what she assumed would be a closet and a guest room.

Turning back towards the door, Weiss saw Ruby staring into the house with wide eyes like she was excited and afraid to step inside. Smiling a little, knowing that Ruby most likely thought this was her house, Weiss decided to make the meaning of her previous statement clearer. "Ruby, are you afraid to step into your own house?"

"Huh?" Ruby snapped out of her trance and thought of what Weiss had just said. "Wait… you don't… right?"

"Ruby, this is _our_ house." Weiss stepped up to her and took her hands before slowly stepping back to draw Ruby into the house. "It was a gift from my father, for both of us."

"But… a HOUSE?" Ruby's jaw went slack in disbelief.

"Yes, according to Winter, we have one in each kingdom, but I assume that's what this letter is going to explain." Weiss nodded to the letter sticking out of her pocket.

"But I-I can't own a house! I don't even have a job yet!" Ruby exclaimed, looking around at everything yet taking nothing in.

"Ruby, you don't need a job to own a house. And you're definitely old enough." Weiss said before the argument could come from Ruby's lips. "This is our house, Ruby. It's mine, and it's yours, and nobody else's. Somewhere we might find ourselves calling home in the future."

"Right… you're right… of course…." Ruby nodded as she slowed her breathing. She looked around again, this time taking in all the details of what she could see. She nodded once to herself before looking back at her wife with a small smile on her lips. "It's actually really nice."

"I thought so too. I bet Winter helped father otherwise we'd be under millions of pieces of crystal." Weiss pointed at the cieling, drawing Ruby's gaze.

"I bet… I'm going to get the bags." Ruby hesitated before taking one more quick breath. "_Then_ can we go swimming?"

Weiss laughed at Ruby and shook her head in defeat. "Yes, we can go swimming after we look around the house and I give my father a call about whatever is in this letter. Does that sound fair?"

"Yup! No take-backs!" Ruby shouted excitedly before rushing back out the door.

Weiss decided she'd read the letter first and let Ruby explore. She made her way to the kitchen as she flipped the pages open and started reading the preface to the legal documents beneath. It seemed her father really had given her and Ruby four houses with a large amount of property surrounding them.


	74. Chapter 74

"Aaand… done!" Ruby nodded, satisfied that she'd done a somewhat rushed, yet satisfactory job at unpacking the two cases of clothing and placing them into the single humongous walk-in closet that occupied a quarter of the upper floor. Looking around, Ruby was slightly intimidated that the handful of outfits she'd brought barely filled any space, and looking at the side she'd given to Weiss was no better. She was almost tempted to put everything together, but that would just cause confusion when they were trying to find clothes to get dressed. Especially since Ruby had _accidentally_ noticed that Weiss' underwear was for the most part identical to her own except it was a single size smaller. _Not that I didn't already know that, but… okay time to stop thinking about that!_

Ruby spun and left the closet, turning off the light as she went and closing the door. She was now standing in the obscenely large bedroom that occupied half of the remaining space on the floor. A large canopy bed stood in the center of the room, framed on either side by large windows with thick, sky-blue curtains above a small night table. A door led directly to the stairs where she'd come up the stairs. The door was actually very heavy and Ruby guessed it would be pretty good at muffling sound, though she doubted there'd ever be a need for that. Especially since it seemed Weiss was just as hesitant as Ruby to take _that_ step into their relationship. That's not to say it wouldn't happen, just that… Weiss never made a lot of noise… except when she was angry… which was a _lot _of the time lately.

Ruby felt her face heat up as her thoughts inadvertently drifted over the subject she'd been trying her best to keep from her mind. Maybe it had been the fact that she had fought for and married the girl of her dreams, or maybe it was the fact that for the next week they'd be living in this house together, as if they were living their lives just like any other couple that had just gotten married, that these thoughts kept returning to her mind. Maybe this week would be good for them though, and help get her mind off of _that_. Spending time together with absolutely nothing to worry about was something she'd been desperately looking forward to and she didn't want to ruin it by pressuring Weiss.

She walked into the washroom that was the final room on the floor and took it in properly, having only glanced inside when she had tossed her bathing suit onto the counter while she was busy unpacking.

Two sinks in the counter with their own mirrors stretched across the close wall that bordered the walk-in closet. A single toilet that was placed out of the way inside a small stall stood near the sinks but not directly across from the door. And the rest of the room was on the other side of a glass wall with a sliding door and covered in tile. A shower head on the wall near a small bench held her curiosity for a moment before the massive bath caught her gaze. It was easily ten times the size of the one in their dorm back at Beacon, and Ruby had to blink a couple times when she noticed that there were actually water jets dotting the sides of it.

She made a mental note to convince Weiss to take a bath with her later as she'd never actually been in a tub like that before and it wasn't really something she thought would be very fun or relaxing. Ruby felt that Weiss must have done that before and know the tricks to enjoying it. And considering they'd taken a couple baths together already, she was sure Weiss wouldn't object too much.

She quickly donned her bathing suit and left the upper floor to find her wife.

* * *

Weiss was talking on her scroll with her father, thanking him for the generous gift, and now he was using the opportunity to tell her about a site that he'd visited with her mother when they'd been dating. Weiss had been thankful that her stepmother had chosen to attend a social event on the opposite side of remnant when she was to be married as the two barely managed to keep civil tongues in each other's company. The fact that she was only barely Winter's senior probably didn't help either.

"And sunset up there looks simply magnificent. I highly suggest watching it set at least once while you're out there." He finished. "But I've taken enough of your time. We'll talk more once you're back at Beacon."

"Right… thank you again, father. Ruby was-" Weiss's tongue froze as Ruby walked into the room with nothing but a small two-piece bikini gracing her well-developing figure. Weiss felt her scroll slip from her fingers and immediately ripped her gaze away as she fumbled to catch it before it hit the floor. She succeeded with the help of a small glyph to catch the device for her and quickly put it back to her ear, turning her back to Ruby. "Sorry, my scroll slipped. Goodbye, father."

She could have sworn she heard a chuckle from the other end before he answered in kind and hung up.

"Ruby! What are you wearing that for?" Weiss asked as she tried to turn around and look at Ruby without actually seeing her, but even she knew that was an impossible task as her eyes observed every detail of the revealed skin under the stretched fabric that did little but cover the most important bits.

"We're going swimming, remember?" Ruby asked, watching as Weiss's eyes took everything in. It was kind of embarrassing, but at the same time thrilling to know that Weiss only ever looked at her like that. The almost predatory look her eyes took on sent a shiver down Ruby's spine as she decided to slowly approach Weiss. "You didn't forget… did you?"

"N-no, of course not!" Weiss jumped, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I wanted to tell you about what was in the letter before that, though."

"Okay, so… what did it say?" Ruby asked, moving to lean on the counter where Weiss could thankfully avoid staring. Though the fact that Ruby pressed their shoulders together didn't help her imagination from flaring into action.

"It said… my father has given us… f-four houses." Weiss forced the words out while trying to keep her head on straight. Her pulse was thundering through her veins and her nerves definitely weren't making it easy to concentrate. "E-each with their own car."

"What!" Ruby exclaimed as she jumped away from the counter in shock. "We can't even drive!"

"Actually…" Weiss said with a nervous smile, hoping she wouldn't find herself staring again when she raised her eyes from the floor. "I learned before coming to Beacon."

"Oh… I guess you never said anything so I just assumed… sorry." Ruby laughed awkwardly. This helped Weiss regain her composure and calm down a bit. "But why would he give us four houses?"

"One for each kingdom." Weiss said before realizing Ruby would miss the reasoning behind it. "If I'm to take over the dust company one day, I'll need to travel between the kingdoms frequently. And it's nice to have a getaway so we won't be bothered at the family estate."

"That makes sense…" Ruby nodded slowly. "I mean, if you're okay with it, then I am too."

Weiss couldn't help a smile from stretching her lips. "Okay, dolt. Where did you put my bathing suit?"

"On the bed." Ruby said excitedly. "Upstairs, can't miss it! I'm going to pack something so we can eat without coming back here."

"Don't go crazy, we won't be swimming long since it'll start getting dark in a few hours."

"You let me worry about that and go change!" Ruby ordered while using a carrot to point out of the kitchen. "And hurry!"

Weiss shook her head in defeat and soon found herself in her bedroom looking down at the swimsuit that was definitely not hers. It was a two-piece just like hers, but that's where the similarities stopped. Instead of simple white fabric, it was some sort of silver and appeared to be made of a little under half the fabric that composed her other one. Once she moved past the small size, she noticed a small note tucked into the knot that held the neck strap together. She pulled it out and crumpled it in her hand the second she read the small note.

"Winter, when I get my hands on you, I will hit you so hard that Yang feels it!" Weiss swore under her breath as she moved to the washroom to change. After all, if Ruby could make her trip over her own thoughts, the least she could do was return the favor… _even if it will be a little bit embarrassing_.


	75. Chapter 75

**A/N:**

**I'm so sorry for not updating this (or anything for that matter) for so long. I'll keep my explanation of my absence brief: laptop warranty, pile of work, the big brother and fat cousin to that pile, new jobs, and general life.**

**If any of that didn't make sense, don't worry. I'll be updating everything at least once before Friday, and will also be posting a new story that I started while my hard drive was on vacation.**

**I just have to go over the final chapters for this story before I post them, and I promise they'll all be up by this weekend.**

**Now a warning, this chapter is a little awkward and deals with mature content. Please enjoy!**

* * *

Weiss lay awake, even if she still kept her eyes closed. This was the third time she'd done this in as many days.

It was now Sunday, meaning that there were still four days that she would spend alone with Ruby. It wasn't a bad thing, but there was one issue that had been eating at her mind more and more as time passed. It was one that had come up several times before, but she'd never actually talked to Ruby about it. At least, not directly.

The problem was that Weiss found it exceedingly difficult to raise the subject. Especially so when she looked at Ruby. The nervousness that had taken root inside her decided it would take every opportunity to send a reminder of itself in the form of butterflies in her stomach. And it was only getting worse as time continued to slowly roll past.

It was already past noon since they'd stayed up late to watch yet another movie together and play a rather questionable game that they'd found sitting atop the freshly laundered towels when they'd enjoyed a hot bath together in the luxury tub. Weiss was starting to enjoy watching movies but the game they'd played had been… to say the least, it had been an eye-opener. It wasn't to say that it had been anything new to the newlywed couple, especially considering it was still more appropriate in nature than their wedding gifts from their sisters, if only slightly. But they had to admit to themselves that it had been fun to play, even if they'd only do it once.

Weiss smiled to herself and cuddled deeper into Ruby's embrace. She was still sleeping, and Weiss had made it a routine that, at least during their honeymoon, they would always get up together. It seemed appropriate for several reasons, but today she had a slightly-less-than-honourable motive. They had played the game until the small hours of that morning and fallen into bed in a giggly state of exhaustion. There had been a small amount of alcohol to attribute it to, but that didn't explain why they were both in nothing but their underwear. On the previous two nights, they'd worn their sleepwear as per usual, but last night they had both been on a nervous and embarrassed high from their game of trust, and had just fallen asleep on the bed without even cleaning up the game equipment on the floor at the foot of the bed. Both ignoring the clothing that was neatly folded next to the game board before going to bed.

Weiss was very conscious of the feel of Ruby's smooth skin against hers, and it rattled her deeply that she knew what her feelings were telling her. That she was ready to give Ruby everything that she had yet to give. Even if she hadn't been ready on their first day as wives, she knew that she was now. She loved Ruby, trusted her with all her being, and wanted to give her everything she could possibly imagine, and then more. Weiss knew that Ruby had been thinking about it as well, from mumbled replies to her questions and the huge blushes that would sometimes cross her face without reason. And that wasn't mentioning the partially suggestive nature of her jokes that Weiss knew she'd picked up from her sister. But she was fairly sure that she hadn't been much better. There had definitely been some sort of shift since they arrived at this beach house.

She had originally thought that they'd missed something during the development of their relationship because of the way that it was forced to progress. But now she wondered if that was really true, and not just some fabrication of her mind because of an irrational fear of going further and taking that final step. Sure, they hadn't exactly known each other for an exorbitant amount of time, but their relationship had grown by leaps and bounds into something that both terrified and excited Weiss. It had proven strong enough to withstand her father, White Fang assassins, both of their sisters, and now she wanted nothing less than to take that last step to solidify it. To show to Ruby that not only was this all worth it, but that more than anything else, this was what she wanted. She was what she wanted. And that want, that need to prove herself, was what terrified her and spurred her on.

"Mmm…" Ruby mumbled and pulled Weiss closer in her sleep, moving one of her legs to wrap over Weiss's and pull her even closer. Weiss melted into the cuddle and gave Ruby what she wanted. There wasn't any space between them now, and Weiss felt a shiver work its way down her spine at the realization.

She remained still as Ruby slowly awoke and only then did she open her eyes to find Ruby looking at her; her eyes still half-lidded with sleep.

"Good- good morning Weiss." Ruby said as she stifled a yawn.

Weiss pulled Ruby closer and placed her lips against Ruby's in a short, chaste peck in reply. Ruby smiled widely, and melted into the kiss until Weiss backed off.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?" Weiss asked, letting Ruby pull her back into the cuddle.

"Hmm…" Ruby hummed as she nestled her face into the crook of Weiss's neck. "Like I've never slept before."

"You said that yesterday too, you know." Weiss pointed out, even if she couldn't honestly bring herself to care. It was a nice concept to think that simply sharing a bed with Ruby gave her an enjoyable rest.

"Doesn't make it any less true." Ruby replied before placing her lips on Weiss's neck. She repeated the action a few times until Weiss carefully pulled her closer so she couldn't get a proper angle. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"Why would something be wrong?" Weiss asked defensively, knowing that her voice sounded just a little off.

"Are you going to talk to me, or am I going to have to guess?" Ruby asked quietly in response.

Weiss remained silent as Ruby waited patiently. Ruby's warmth in her arms both soothed and built her apprehension to an unbearable level. She tried starting to talk a few times before falling silent each time.

"It's…" She only managed a single word before her voice failed her again. She felt Ruby pull her closer and start rubbing her back in the way that said she was listening and everything was okay. That she was safe. "I-I think… I'm ready."

"For what?" Ruby asked.

Weiss knew there was no way for Ruby to have read her mind but couldn't help but be slightly disappointed that she hadn't caught the hint. Though she probably wouldn't have caught it either had their positions been reversed. She cursed her inability to curb her nervousness as she took a deep breath and willed the blunt words from her mouth. "For s-sex."

Ruby didn't respond for a while, though she did pause her hand for a moment before continuing. The couple remained there in their own thoughts, without an inch to separate their bodies for a matter of minutes that neither counted. And at last, Ruby stopped her motion and pushed Weiss slightly away.

"I… think I am too." Ruby whispered with a blush glowing bright across her cheeks. "But I'm really nervous."

"W-what do you think I am?" Weiss felt the words flow from her mouth before she could stop them and watched a small grin spread across Ruby's cheeks. "I mean… i-it's not like I've d-done anything like t-this before."

"Well… they say we should talk about it first… so… yeah." Ruby mumbled as she buried her head back into Weiss's neck to hide her blush. Weiss didn't mind, though it made it slightly less comfortable and more awkward to talk to her wife.

"What exactly do we talk about?" Weiss asked more to herself than to Ruby. Sure there were certain topics that she knew of for heterosexual couples, but they didn't apply to her and Ruby, seeing as neither of them would be able to make the other pregnant.

"W-well… I did read s-something about it when I was at Signal." Ruby stated, her voice muffled by the blanket around their shoulders. "During health class."

Weiss remained silent, waiting for Ruby to continue. She could almost feel the heat radiating off her face and could definitely feel the blush that seemed to be covering Ruby.

"So… um… what s-sort of… stuff do you l-like?" Ruby asked awkwardly. "I m-mean… what… um… feels good?"

Weiss hadn't expected something like this, but she knew she would never be able to answer until after she'd had some experience. Despite that, it took her a while to find her voice, but it helped when she realized that Ruby was almost definitely in the same boat as her.

"W-well… we could just d-do what feels right?" Weiss asked uncertainly.

Ruby moved her head in a slight nod to indicate her agreement, then took a deep breath before continuing.

"Well… next is… stuff about d-diseases and… protection stuff." Ruby said uncertainly.

"Ruby, we're both… g-girls…." Weiss replied. "A-and I've never… you know, and I've always been healthy so I don't have a d-disease."

"Thats the same for me too." Ruby replied. Weiss noticed that it was getting easier to talk about the topic, even if her nerves weren't lessening. It was like the anticipation of what would happen later was drowning out her apprehension and soothing her uncertainty.

"I love you Ruby. And I trust you." Weiss moved so she could place her lips on Ruby's and was met with an equally enthusiastic response from her wife.

"I love you and trust you too." Ruby replied breathlessly once she broke the kiss. "J-just be… gentle, okay?"

Weiss once again met Ruby's lips with her own in acknowledgment of the request. "I promise…. Same for me, okay?"

Ruby giggled a little and gave Weiss another peck before meeting Weiss's crystal blue eyes with her own. "Promise."


	76. Chapter 76

**AN:**

**Well, not much to say here other than please enjoy!**

**Warning: This chapter contains adult content! **

* * *

Weiss felt as if she were about to melt. The awkwardness and nervousness of the previous minutes were gone from her mind, replaced with the thoughts of Ruby and the feel of her lips and tongue as it passionately fought with her own. It was a new feeling that was still reminiscent of their previous kisses, but this time it was more. More heated… more imperative… more caring, and attractive, and reckless. More loving.

Weiss gasped, hearing Ruby take a sharp breath in as well. They were apart for only the time it took to refill their lungs before the next searing kiss started. Ruby's hands had found their way to Weiss's hips and the feel of her slightly callused fingers gently pressing into her forced a moan from deep in Weiss's throat.

Weiss rolled Ruby onto her back and straddled her, her hands clasped around the back of Ruby's neck, trying to pull her deeper into the kiss as Ruby continued her ministrations. Ruby's hands started to slowly explore Weiss's body, tracing over the slight contours of her abdominals with one hand while the other traced her spine. Weiss whimpered when Ruby reached the bottom of her ribs and broke the kiss. She moaned quietly as Ruby's hands teased the bare skin just below her bra.

"Weiss… can I?" Ruby's voice was breathless and filled with what was clearly a deep want. Her hand that had been moving up her back had come to a stop atop the clasp of Weiss's undergarment. Weiss was still trying to get her lungs to refill with air but nodded her assent as Ruby fumbled and unhooked the clasp with one hand while the other kept Weiss at a small distance.

Weiss gasped as a shock of cold air hit her chest where the clothing fell away. Suddenly, she felt self conscious about herself and quickly covered her chest with her arm while tossing the clothing off the bed with the other. Ruby took advantage of the situation and flipped Weiss over onto her back so she could look at her properly. She carefully took Weiss's free hand and intertwined their fingers. It was a fit Ruby had felt before, but now it was as if their hands weren't just neighboring pieces of the same puzzle, but the only two pieces in that puzzle. With her other hand, she gently took Weiss' wrist, being careful not to touch what lay below her arm.

"I want to see you, Weiss." Ruby spoke huskily before her brain could even catch up to inform her how perverted she sounded. She blushed but didn't look away from Weiss who hesitated, her face had been flushed red from the kiss but Ruby could tell that Weiss felt embarrassed. She nodded and Ruby felt her arm fall limp. Ruby slowly picked it up and moved it away so she could see all of her wife.

Weiss didn't have a large bust, but Ruby would be lying if she thought she'd ever see anyone more beautiful than Weiss was at this moment. Her chest moved slowly in time with her breathing and the tips of her breasts were slowly growing with the cold air that replaced her warm arm.

She must have been staring for a while because she was surprised when Weiss flipped her back onto her back and closed the space between their bodies for another kiss.

This time, everything was slower, more relaxed. Weiss's tongue took its time teasing Ruby's lips before finally entering and forcing a moan from the younger girl. Ruby responded by simply letting Weiss guide her in a way that felt indescribably perfect. After a moment, Ruby found herself with her mouth open and tongue outstretched into Weiss's lips as she playfully suckled the tip, causing a wave of heat to rush down Ruby's spine.

She gasped and pulled Weiss closer with her one arm that didn't have its fingers interlocked with Weiss's, needing the space between them to disappear as much as her lungs needed air. She felt Weiss's hand slip beneath her back and she moved slightly so that the space she knew Weiss was aiming for would have easy access. A second later, she felt the fabric that encased her chest fall loose on her shoulders and slip upward as Weiss shifted her position slightly.

Weiss gasped as Ruby's hand settled just above the back of her panties and pushed herself up. Ruby took the chance to discard her bra, making Weiss freeze as she took in the look of Ruby's disheveled hair, rosy cheeks and ample bust.

"You're beautiful." Weiss whispered, feeling the heat that was already coursing through her veins double. "C-can I… touch them?"

"Yes." Ruby breathed and waited as Weiss hesitantly moved one of her hands. She traced from Ruby's neck, down her chest, and stopped just next to Ruby's armpit. Ruby shivered from the sensation of Weiss's hand resting between such an intimate place and a ticklish one.

Weiss noticed the shiver and slowly moved to cup Ruby's breast in her hand. She did it as gently as possible and then carefully squeezed, allowing her fingers to truly feel her wife.

Ruby let out a long, slow breath as Weiss slowly massaged her, closing her eyes to simply enjoy the sensations she was experiencing. She felt her skin blaze where Weiss was pressed against her. Her breathing was heavy and she felt an itch and flutter of warmth start to grow in the place between her thighs. Her hands clenched the sheets as a sudden shock traveled through her body thanks to Weiss's finger finally finding the sensitive tip of her breast.

"Ohh…" Weiss watched as Ruby moaned. Her hands were clenched in the sheets as if her life depended on her grip. Her back was arched under Weiss's body as her body tried to get closer even if it were physically impossible.

"Ruby, I…" Weiss started but her voice failed as Ruby's silver eyes met hers, willing her to continue. "I want you to touch me too."

Ruby's response was to pull Weiss closer with one arm and move her other hand onto Weiss's breast to return the massage. Weiss gasped as Ruby's hot hand met her cool skin and started to gently squeeze. Weiss moaned in response only to redouble her efforts on Ruby when Ruby rolled Weiss once more onto her back.

Ruby leaned down as she felt another large moan roll from her throat. She silenced it with Weiss's lips and tongue as Weiss hungrily accepted the kiss. Ruby continued her attack for a while until Weiss was whimpering below her.

"Ruby…" Weiss moaned as her lips broke from Ruby's to start suckling her neck.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelped as the movement took her by surprise, sending a wave of shock and pleasure through her, forcing a halt to her own ministrations. "I-I need you to-"

"Same…" Weiss breathed while she too caught her breath.

Ruby nodded and started to pull away only for Weiss to tighten her hold. "I c-cant take them off if you hold on."

"Can I d-do it?" Weiss asked cautiously. Ruby sunk so she could lay her lips on Weiss's neck. Then she rolled over so Weiss lay on top of her.

"Do it." The command left Ruby's lips in barely a whisper, but Weiss felt it shake her to her bones. This was the final step and it brought with it feelings of finality and a new beginning.

"Okay." Weiss kissed Ruby and then moved down, trailing her lips across the soft skin of Ruby's chest and then stomach, passing by those sensitive spots to avoid teasing her wife. If Ruby was feeling the same as her, then she knew she wouldn't appreciate any delays. She hooked her fingers in the edges of Ruby's panties and slid them down her legs and off, tossing them to the side and off the bed.

Weiss pushed herself up and looked down at Ruby, now completely in the nude, sprawled on the bed below her. It was like looking at a painting in an art museum, except so much better. Because she was the one that had given Ruby the blush that covered her face, forced the glistening sweat from her skin, and made her chest heave up and down as she took in rushed lung-fulls of oxygen. In fewer words, she was the most beautiful thing Weiss had ever seen.

"M-my turn…" Ruby broke Weiss's trance as she helped Weiss out of her own garment and then the two joined back in a kiss, unconsciously keeping a small distance between them.

"I c-can't wait anymore." Ruby gasped as she broke the kiss.

Weiss nodded breathlessly and slowly reached down, teasing the skin just above where Ruby wanted her. Ruby whimpered with great need, her eyes were shut tight and her fists were once again gripping sections of the sheets.

"R-Ruby…" Ruby's eyes opened to see Weiss, bringing a smile to her face. "I love you."

"Love you to-ooooh…" Ruby moaned as Weiss's fingers dived down, moving slowly over her sensitive bud to dance around her lower lips. "D-d-don't t-tease me."

Weiss smiled at the reaction Ruby had to her and felt her own arousal reach a tipping point. "Ruby, I need you."

Ruby replied with another whimper as her hand found its way to Weiss's bud, making her jump in surprise.

Weiss responded by rubbing her fingers faster over Ruby while Ruby played with her lover's clitoris with her own deft fingers. It wasn't long before they were both gasping, both close to bringing their first experience together to a climax.

"Use a finger." Weiss instructed as she slipped her middle finger slowly between Ruby's soft petals and into her constricted womanhood.

"Aaah!" Ruby gasped as she mirrored Weiss's movement with less hesitation, forcing Weiss to gasp as a deep moan forced its way from her throat.

Weiss pumped her finger slowly, and then faster and faster as Ruby mirrored her. Weiss couldn't believe how close she felt to simply imploding and by the noises Ruby was making, Weiss could tell she felt the same.

"I'm… uh… ah…" Weiss couldn't get her statement out but thankfully Ruby knew what she was going for and replied.

"Me too… oooh…" Ruby spoke quickly between her gasps and moans. Her face was completely red as she tried to hold on to the explosive feeling that was now quickly building inside her.

Ruby added another finger to Weiss's treatment and the resulting scream of pleasure was all she needed to ramp up her speed one more time. Weiss collapsed on Ruby's chest as she used her hand that she'd used to balance to focus on Ruby's clit.

Ruby felt her mouth gape open as her throat choked out all sound and her eyes rolled upwards in her head. Then, as Weiss's finger curled inside her, she felt her muscles spasm violently as her voice forced it's way out.

"Weeeeiiiisssss!" Ruby's yell fell heavenly upon Weiss's ears as she felt Ruby's muscles go taut. She felt herself react as if Ruby's scream of pleasure had been the launch button to the rocket that left her vision full of stars.

"Rubyyyyy!" Weiss lost all control of her body as she felt Ruby's fingers go lax inside her.

Weiss could feel everything. From Ruby's slender fingers inside her, to the way their chests met under her weight, to the rhythmic pulsating of her lover's insides as she too experienced her own climax. Weiss felt herself fall back on the edge of another climax from all the sensation and gave in to the aftershock that shook her, forcing quiet whimpers from her throat.

Ruby removed her fingers once she'd regained use of her muscles and moved her limp wife to her side as she calmed down and caught her breath.

Weiss felt Ruby lie still at her side for so long that she thought she'd fallen back asleep. She felt her breathing finally return to normal and the sweat covering her body cool. She felt a shiver from Ruby and reached over to pull the blanket back over them without opening her eyes. Ruby immediately cuddled into her side and finally Weiss took a deep breath and opened her eyes while turning toward her lover.

"Hey." Ruby whispered with a tired grin.

"Hi." Weiss replied, feeling butterflies fill her stomach as a wave of nervousness overtook her.

"That was…" Ruby stopped to think. Her eyes closed and Weiss feared that she'd lost her train of thought when they opened just enough so Weiss could see a glimpse of her silver eyes. "Fantastic."

"Amazing." Weiss agreed with a bit of relief. "But now I'm tired."

"Me too." Ruby agreed. "We _should_ rest…"

Weiss noticed Ruby's eyes had opened a little wider and become somehow more suggestive at her final statement, and Weiss felt a shiver run down her spine in response. Then she heard the faint sound of Ruby's stomach growl.

"Or…" Weiss breathed as she felt her lips pull themselves into a smirk as an idea presented itself. "Maybe we should get something to eat?"

"Maybe I already have someone." Ruby replied before her smile faded along with her confidence. "You're okay w-with that, r-right?"

"Ruby! Just… yes, okay?" Weiss couldn't help the embarrassment at the admission that came so easily to her. Though to be honest, her earlier experience was something she definitely wouldn't mind repeating.

Ruby smiled, her confidence flooding back as she quickly gave Weiss a kiss and repositioned herself over her lover. She didn't hesitate to lean down and place a kiss just above Weiss's button that immediately started to tingle in anticipation of what was to come.

Weiss was able to finally see Ruby up close and her nervousness came back as she cautiously used her hands to part Ruby's folds for a better view. Ruby mirrored the action and gave a long lick down Weiss's center before giving a gentle suck on the overly sensitive bud.

"Yes! Don't stop!" Weiss gasped out as she returned the favor, attacking Ruby with everything she could think to do with her mouth. Sure, the taste wasn't exactly fantastic, but it was definitely Ruby's. That alone made it the best thing she had ever tasted, and it only took two small tastes to tell her that she would never get tired of it.

"You taste good, Weiss." Ruby spoke in between licks from down below. Weiss felt herself blush and decided to punish her lover by adding a finger.

Ruby gasped and resumed her service with renewed vigor, also adding two fingers as she had done before.

Weiss felt herself stretch as Ruby's tongue attacked her clit and her fingers pushed deep inside her. She plunged her tongue inside of Ruby next to her finger and Ruby's mouth came off her in a passion fueled cry. Weiss quickly replaced her tongue with a second finger and then placed her lips over Ruby's button as Ruby resumed her assault.

Ruby curled her fingers inside Weiss, feeling a rougher patch of skin that made her lover's hips buck into her fingers and moan against her womanhood. She started to target the spot relentlessly as she felt Weiss do the same. Nothing felt different for the first few thrusts of Weiss's fingers, but then a bolt of electricity fired through her nerves as Weiss hit her target and Ruby let out a moan that turned to a squeal as Weiss gave a long suck to her clit.

The two kept at it for only a few seconds longer before Ruby collapsed and Weiss could do little more than moan on loop as they both climaxed. Weiss gently licked Ruby's lower lips clean of her juices as Ruby did the same, both avoiding the extremely sensitive buds that were still sending shivers down their spines.

Exhausted, Ruby flipped herself off Weiss and crawled back up to give her a kiss. Weiss hesitated for a second before meeting Ruby's lips hesitantly. Ruby tasted what must have been her own flavor on Weiss's lips, and knew that Weiss must also be tasting the same. They kept kissing until the taste disappeared, mixing until it was either swallowed or diluted with their saliva as it mixed. Weiss had rolled on top of Ruby at some point in their make out session, and she pushed herself up to look down at Ruby.

"I just thought of something… can we try?" Weiss asked. Her embarrassment was gone now that she'd already done the most perverted thing she could think of, namely eating out her wife. Now all she wanted was to use what she felt was going to be the last of her energy to hear Ruby cry her name to the heavens once more before they took a much needed rest.

"What is-ah!" Ruby gasped as Weiss gyrated her hips, grinding her core into Ruby's. Weiss held her gasp in before turning her eyes to meet Ruby's which once again told her how excited she was for the upcoming event.

Weiss readjusted her position by pushing one of Ruby's legs upwards and lowering herself into Ruby while matching Ruby's new position herself. She ground herself into Ruby again and Ruby responded by rocking herself back while pulling Weiss's chest down into her own.

Their lips met as they continued to thrust back and forth. Tongues toyed with each other and breasts pressed tightly against one another. Their bodies, once cooling from their sweat turned slick and hot as they rapidly came to their third finish of the night.

Weiss helped Ruby move herself back to a normal position and rested herself on her shoulder. Neither spoke as they came down from their highs and Ruby fell into an exhausted slumber. Weiss noted that even though it had been their first time, they had definitely gotten something right. Weiss could still feel the aftermath of her orgasms running though her nerves and pulled Ruby closer as she followed her wife into blissful sleep.


	77. Chapter 77

**AN:**

**Again, please enjoy!**

**Warning: This chapter contains adult content!**

* * *

Weiss let the scrambled eggs fall onto the two plates she'd prepared. She'd asked Ruby to clean up the remains of the previous night and that morning while she made breakfast. It sounded like an unfair deal, and it definitely was. Except she couldn't decide who's favor it fell into.

"I'm done!" Ruby called out as Weiss heard the sound of the sheets getting pushed into the hamper. Weiss decided that they'd have to take care of them before they left as she didn't exactly feel comfortable with the servants dealing with them. It was a bit personal, after all.

"I'm finished too. Come eat." Weiss replied as she carried the plates to the table to join the glasses of orange juice and utensils she'd already set out.

"Yum! Looks delicious!" Ruby cheered as she stepped into the room and made her way to Weiss. She let her wife set the plates down before scooping her into a hug from behind, quickly resting her head against her shoulder.

"Ruby!" Weiss jumped slightly at the sudden contact.

"Relax Weiss, I just wanted to get a better look." Ruby hummed happily.

"Come on Ruby. It's embarrassing enough without you bringing attention to it." Weiss argued even if she knew her voice would prove she didn't particularly care.

"Okay." Ruby placed a kiss on the back of her jaw, just below her ear and released her to take her chair.

Weiss took her own as she took in Ruby's appearance. Ruby's hair was still damp from the shower they'd taken, and her cheeks were rosy either from the heat or the flirting, Weiss couldn't tell. She wore a simple bath robe, underneath which Weiss was almost certain that there was no such thing as underwear. Around her neck lay a thick strap of ice blue leather with a bright diamond inlaid in the very front. The overall effect was stunning in the most unfair way that had her want to pin Ruby to the floor then and there. The problem was that the outfits had been Ruby's idea in exchange for her dealing with the sheets.

Weiss wondered if Ruby's unexpected hug had anything to do with the dark red strap adorning her own neck. She could never forget that she was wearing it since she could feel the large ruby on her throat every time she swallowed. That wasn't to say it wasn't comfortable, oh how she wished it were so, and she was sure she looked fairly sexy in it, but she felt that it was a bit embarrassing even if the symbolism was just another reminder of the vows they'd made to each other.

The two ate in strained and awkward silence, slowly cleaning their plates and emptying their glasses. The second Ruby placed the last bite in her mouth, Weiss took their plates to the sink to wash. Anything to get away from the tease of Ruby's loose-fitting robe.

She didn't have to wait long for Ruby to join her in another hug from behind, except this time she felt it far too much and involuntarily let out a shaky breath.

"Shh…" Ruby cooed in her ear. "Just keep washing, okay?"

"S-sure." Weiss nodded nervously as she felt Ruby's hands move from her sides to the front of her waist where her sash was tied. She knew what was coming, and couldn't help but feel slightly thrilled at the idea that Ruby was the one to come to her first. Add the fact that she was standing in the kitchen, which she was pretty sure was against the rules, and suddenly she was very excited for what came next. Her robe loosened considerably as the knot was undone and she shivered when Ruby's hand pressed against the skin on her lower stomach.

Weiss tried to focus on scrubbing the plate in her hands but barely could muster the strength to move her arm as her body melted further into Ruby's embrace.

Ruby started to place small kisses on Weiss's neck above and below the collar, purposely bringing Weiss's attention to it when Ruby used it to pull her head farther to the side to grant better access.

"Ruby…" Weiss moaned as she dropped the washcloth into the sink, her other hand barely hanging onto the plate with her fingertips as her eyes closed in bliss.

"Are you done the dishes?" Ruby asked playfully, pulling back slightly and noticing Weiss attempt to remove the sudden space.

"N-not yet." She breathed in response.

"Hmm… that's not good." Ruby pressed herself closer to her wife, making sure to move her free hand from its spot on Weiss's shoulder to the skin just under her wife's breasts. Weiss whimpered in response and picked the cloth up again. "Maybe I need to… give you a hand."

"Ruby, I can dooooo…" Weiss moaned as Ruby's lower hand suddenly slipped even lower and rubbed across her already moist lips.

"Hmm? What was that?" Ruby asked innocently, moving her hand away just a fraction of an inch.

"I-I said I don't need your ahhhh…" Weiss moaned as Ruby's other hand moved to fondle her breast, focusing on gently squeezing her nipple with an ever so slight twist that sent a bolt of electricity down her spine to her already heated core.

"That didn't sound right either…. Care to try again?" Ruby asked. This time Weiss felt Ruby lean in to her neck and pull gently on the collar with her teeth, forcing another gasp from her.

"Okay." Weiss breathed, losing herself in the sensation provided by the girl she couldn't see at her back.

"Ask properly." Ruby ordered, moving her face back to Weiss's shoulder.

"P-please gi-give me a h-hand, Ruby." Weiss turned to meet Ruby's lips in a heated kiss, but was trapped when she tried to turn in the embrace.

"Since you asked so nicely…" Ruby gave another stroke to Weiss's center before trailing the hand up to her other breast. "First you have to pick up the dish and the cloth…"

Weiss turned her attention back to the sink to find the plate must have slipped from her hands at some point. She followed Ruby's direction and Ruby started massaging her chest in time with her swipes across the plate, paying careful attention to her erect nipples.

"Good, now just rinse the plate and put it in the rack." Ruby instructed. She let Weiss follow her directions without distraction. Well, without too much distraction at least. "Now the same thing with the forks."

"Okay…" Weiss breathed. Her head was already swimming with arousal and she wanted nothing less than to please her partner so that maybe the favour would be returned without too much trouble. The forks were easier than the first plate, due mainly to the fact she was starting to get used to Ruby's ministrations. Ruby then changed her massage pattern when she started on the glasses.

Ruby's palm pressed the tips of Weiss's nipples down as her hand roughly squeezed and twisted, giving Weiss a sensation that was both overwhelming and amazing. She had to rinse the second glass twice since she ended up dropping it back into the sink as her body sent a tremor through her knees.

"Good girl… now the last plate and you'll be done." Ruby instructed breathlessly.

Weiss couldn't get her voice to obey without moaning, so she nodded, feeling Ruby lightly flick her nipples as she once again moved her hands so she could use her fingertips on one breast while the other hand traveled south. Weiss had to admit to herself that the play Ruby had started was immensely stimulating. So she picked the plate off the counter and held it tightly in her hand as she felt Ruby's lower hand brush against her core.

"First you want to get it wet." Ruby said, dipping her finger into Weiss at the same time that Weiss placed the plate into the sink's water.

"Ruuubyyy!" Weiss moaned loudly as her knees shook. She felt Ruby pull her tight, leaning over slightly so Weiss could use the sink to balance. Weiss placed her elbows on the edge as support while Ruby continued to flick her nipple and started to play with her sensitive bud, leaving the penetrating finger to lie still.

"Now, you have to scrub it clean." Ruby ordered, emphasizing the order by withdrawing her finger and plunging it back in with a second one.

"AhhH!" Weiss yelped as her hips bucked into Ruby's hand, feeling Ruby's body wrap perfectly around her back at the movement as if they were a set of spoons.

Weiss shakily and desperately started scrubbing the plate, feeling Ruby's fingers plunge in and out of her with every stroke she took, sending water splashing onto the counter as her mind slowly fogged over in pleasure.

"Now rinse it." Ruby replied. Weiss could barely register the order, but moved to obey as quickly as she could, as long as Ruby's fingers wouldn't stop.

She gasped as Ruby suckled onto her earlobe as the suds fell from the plate, and she dropped it into the rack, making a loud clatter when it hit the other plate.

"Drain the water."

Weiss pulled the plug and felt Ruby's fingers curl inside her, rubbing up against the spot that had driven her crazy that morning, sending a wave of fire through her.

"Rubyyyy… more!" Weiss ordered as her legs gave out and Ruby picked up her pace while holding her up, hitting that sensitive spot over and over and over as Weiss's core squeezed around her fingers with a shivering desperation. She sped up once then twice as Weiss's breathing turned into a continuous moan and then silenced for a second as every muscle in the red collared girl tensed.

"AHhhhhH!" Weiss shrieked as her body arched into Ruby's and spasmed. Ruby felt every minuscule movement of her wife's orgasm and felt herself get incredibly close to one as well simply from the whimpering sounds Weiss made as she came down with Ruby's fingers still deep inside her and Ruby's thumbs still gently playing with her nipples and clit.

"Sit." Ruby ordered huskily, helping Weiss position herself on the floor. She stood back up and stepped so her wife's face was only an inch away from her heated core. "Lick."

Ruby wasn't sure if Weiss would listen but was thankful that she wasted no time almost tearing her robe out of the way and delving her tongue deep into her folds. She gasped in relief as Weiss's tongue flicked over her slit and dipped through her entrance before leaving to pay attention to her sensitive bud. Weiss repeated it only a couple of times before Ruby felt herself fall over the edge and collapse into her wife's lap.

Ruby came down with her lips trapped against those that tasted of egg and herself and smiled. It wasn't that she liked her own taste but it was the fact that it came off of Weiss's lips that made her not care.

"Sorry if I went too far." Ruby apologized breathlessly, hoping Weiss had been okay with the small power-trip she'd gone on.

"That was… wow." Weiss could barely answer, her head still off in a cloud of satisfaction. She noticed Ruby still watching her apprehensively so she forcibly pulled herself back to reality. "Next time, I give the orders."

Ruby smiled and cuddled into Weiss's exposed chest, tracing the collar with her fingers. "You look great with that on by the way."

"You do too. Weiss hooked her finger under the end and pulled Ruby's lips back to her own. The two stayed like that for a while until the chill of the floor sent a shiver through Weiss.

Ruby helped her up and they moved their cuddling session to the main room where they buried themselves in a pile of blankets, tossing their robes to the floor to more fully enjoy their freedom together before they would have to return to their dorm.

The day continued on, both girls lazing in and out of sleep while their hands explored each other more fully than ever before. Whispered promises and provocations lit fires more than once, urging cries of ecstasy from their lips as they became one as many times as they felt inclined.

Night fell peacefully, both properly exhausted from the day even with their frequent rest. It was one of those times that nothing was said, simply because there truly was nothing to say. They bathed once more before delving back into their sheets, the smell of the fresh linens sharp on their noses which had smelt nothing but each other for most of the day.

"This is weird, right?" Ruby asked through a yawn while the couple snuggled into bed with the lights off.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, feeling that Ruby was asking something out of context as per usual.

"Well, we never did… stuff before now and we spent all day basically… yeah." Ruby hesitated every time the word sex arose as if it were embarrassing. Weiss figured it was, but much less than the actual act which they had no problems performing throughout the day.

"Well, we won't be able to have sex whenever we want after we return to Beacon." Weiss pointed out. "I guess it's better if we get it out of our systems now."

"Whoa… you really thought that out, huh?" Ruby teased with a giggle.

"I… I'm still not sure how… accepting your sister is of me…" Weiss admitted. "I don't think we should risk doing anything in our dorm. Just in case."

"Hmm… I guess you're right…." Ruby mumbled before pressing her lips to Weiss's neck, drawing a long, tired moan from the older girl. "But I don't think I'll survive until summer vacation."

"Th-that is a long time, isn't it?" Weiss noted distractedly, cursing how easily Ruby could affect her with her constant affection.

"Maybe we could stay at our Vale house on the weekends when we're not doing anything?" Ruby suggested, relaxing back into the soft bed. She couldn't start another round that night even if she wanted to.

"That sounds nice…" Weiss admitted. "It'll let us get some time alone together and we can go out to Vale."

"I love you Weiss." Ruby yawned again.

"I love you too." Weiss replied, closing her eyes.

"Hey, Weiss?" Ruby asked after a slight silence.

"Yes?" Weiss asked, keeping her eyes closed.

"When are we going to take these collars off?"

Weiss's eyes snapped open, taking in Ruby's relaxed body with the sexy ice blue collar wrapped around her neck.

"Tomorrow." Weiss answered, pulling herself into Ruby's chest as sleep slowly pulled at her. She could have sworn that Ruby had smiled at her answer, but then again, she was smiling as well.


	78. Chapter 78

Tuesday was a strange day.

Not that the other days they'd spent alone together hadn't been strange, each in their own specific way, but it was definitely a different type of strange.

"What is it?" Weiss mumbled to herself almost angrily while she watched Ruby make some food for them.

"I'd help if I could, but I have no idea what it is that you have stuck in your head." Ruby replied from across the kitchen. "Did it have something to do with us?"

"Obviously, but I can't remember what it was!" Weiss groaned in frustration. "Everything with my family and our wedding is wrapped up, right? I didn't forget something that we were supposed to do?"

"Not that I know of." Ruby replied as she rummaged through the fridge. "Was it something to do with Beacon? Maybe a class we had a test in or something?"

Weiss thought through all their classes and couldn't find a match to the foreboding feeling that had sprung up inside her when she'd awoken. "No tests, the next round of them are all in two weeks. We do have to catch up on reading and notes, but Blake said she'd give us copies of hers. But that's not it either!"

Ruby laughed at her troubled wife as she placed a plate in front of her with a sandwich and some plain chips. Ruby started crunching on her own meal as she looked at Weiss who was once again deeper in thought.

The day was extremely hot compared to the previous days they'd spent there, so Weiss was wearing a short top that Ruby had helped modify to show some of her stomach and increase the breathability of the item. Ruby had to admit it sent a shiver down her spine every time she saw Weiss show off. She knew the heiress rarely did so in public and that made it special because Ruby was the only one she'd allow to see, well, everything it seemed. Her eyes caught the bottom edge of the scar that had been the result of their fight with an alpha beowolf and her blood froze.

Ruby's mouth stopped mid chew and dropped open, the partially chewed food falling back to the table, past the sandwich she held in her hands. Weiss looked at Ruby curiously as she noticed and slowly replaced her cold cut next to her chips.

"I… I think I know what you're thinking about." Ruby answered shakily, her mouth dry in nervousness.

"What is it?" Weiss almost jumped at Ruby in excitement.

"You remember our Grimm Studies project, right?" Ruby began slowly. She could see with each word she spoke the happiness on Weiss's face turn to fear. "The one that we fought in Emerald Forest for?"

"Ruby, when was that due again?" Weiss asked, knowing the answer already, just hoping that for some reason she'd made a mistake even if she knew deep down she hadn't.

"This friday." Ruby breathed.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. Ruby looked like she was trying to decide whether she should keep laughing or start crying and Weiss knew she was probably not much better.

"So basically…" Weiss gasped as she curbed her laughing enough to talk. "We have to do… an entire MONTH worth of work… in three days."

Ruby sobered up at Weiss's statement, fearing that she would have to once again be the bearer of bad news.

"Actually, Weiss… since it's already lunch time now, and we'll be travelling most of the day on thursday… we only have a day and a half." Ruby spoke slowly as she watched Weiss freeze. "Weiss? Are you okay?"

Ruby watched as Weiss's lips moved but no words came out. Her eyes were already far away, flicking back and forth between whatever she was thinking about.

"Weiss, come back to me, okay?" Ruby spoke soothingly. She took Weiss's face and looked her in the eyes, but Weiss didn't seem to notice. "Listen to me, it'll all work out. I promise, okay?"

When Weiss didn't respond, Ruby leaned in and captured Weiss's lips with her own. They moved for a second as if nothing had happened before falling still and then returning the kiss. Ruby broke it earlier than she would have liked to find Weiss's eyes staring intently into her own.

"We'll get it done, okay?" Ruby asked quietly.

"How? Ruby? It's not possible!" Weiss argued quickly.

"Shh…" Ruby placed her thumb against Weiss's lips to silence her. When she felt Weiss's lips still, she continued. "That's what everyone seemed to think about us finding a loophole in your wedding contract. You have to admit that as a team, we have a pretty good track record for doing the impossible."

Weiss thought for a few moments before nodding in defeat. "Okay, there's no use stressing over it anyways. Either it will get finished or it won't. No big deal right?"

"Well, sort-of big deal, but you're thinking the right way." Ruby laughed.

Weiss laughed, tears coming from her eyes from how ridiculous she felt. When she calmed down enough, she smiled at her wife with all the love she felt swelling in her heart. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Maybe, but I'll let you remind me." Ruby replied playfully.

"If we pull this off, I'll show you." Weiss replied seriously.

Ruby jumped up and used her semblance to get to her scroll to summon their lockers. When she returned, she followed Weiss's example and resumed eating their lunch while they waited on their lockers. It would probably be a while before they arrived, so she may as well enjoy the peace while it lasted. Because she really wanted to see what Weiss meant by her last statement.


	79. Chapter 79

"Alright everyone! Make sure to read chapter eleven by next Tuesday. Class dismissed." Professor Port returned to his desk as his class started their exodus. Some stayed to wake their teammates or friends that had succumbed to sleep, and others hung around to chat with each other.

Weiss and Ruby exchanged a glance, wordlessly agreeing to get the worst over quickly. Yang and Blake were waiting by the door for them but Ruby motioned to the professor to indicate their intention.

Blake took Yang by the arm and pulled her from the room, leading a crowd of the remaining students while Ruby led Weiss up to the desk.

"Oh, welcome back!" Port boomed, looking up from his papers. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Sir, we wanted to know when we get our grades back for this project." Weiss said politely. She was thankful that she was so good at hiding her true emotions from people who weren't Ruby. Being nervous was never a good sign.

"Hmm… which project were you again?" He looked through the large pile of papers he had to grade. "Beowolves, correct?"

"Yup." Ruby popped the end of the word while she discreetly took Weiss's hand in her own.

"Ah yes." Port fished the document out of the stack and flipped through the pages quickly. "If you'd like, I can grade it now, but your presentation earned full marks."

"Thank you." Weiss nodded. "We'd appreciate it."

"It shouldn't take too long. You may take a seat while you wait." He said as he pulled a red pen from his desk and flipped the clipped papers back to the first page.

"Come on." Ruby pulled Weiss over to a desk and sat down, pulling Weiss onto her lap. Weiss wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders for support and they watched their professor tap his pen on his desk while he read.

They remained silent while he worked. To say the last few days had been exhausting was an understatement. They had luckily already finished the research, but writing a paper on it wasn't the easiest thing to do, not to mention planning a presentation to last an entire fifteen minutes. Weiss knew that a fifteen minute presentation was considered short in the business world, but when it came to talking about one specific species of grimm there was only so much that could be done to keep the attention of those watching. She was thankful that Ruby had been her partner since she managed to work some of the footage from their encounter into the presentation and Weiss felt she had done a good job of explaining the heuristic nature of the fight.

Really, she hoped the paper covered enough to be worth a decent grade. But at the same time, Weiss wondered why exactly she felt so concerned. There really was no reason to be other than the fact that it was what she'd always done, strive to be perfect.

But now it wasn't so much that she was afraid to fail. No, she'd failed plenty of times at more important things but everything had still turned out alright. This time would be no different, except it wasn't just her own future hanging in the balance. Ruby's grade would suffer along with her own if they did badly. She had been as near flawless prior to this assignment as it was possible to be, but she knew it would be a struggle for the girl who was effectively two years ahead of where she was supposed to be if she didn't do relatively well on the project.

"Alright, I have finished." Port broke into her thoughts and Weiss was quick to jump to her feet and pull Ruby up behind her.

"And?" Weiss asked as she stopped in front of the professor's desk. The paper he'd marked was face down in front of him as if he'd purposely staged the scene.

"Well ladies, I would first like to offer a commendation on your presentation, it was quite well presented given the amount of time I'm sure you had to rehearse." He stated.

"Thank you sir." Ruby squeezed Weiss's hand tighter, sensing she was getting impatient. "And our paper?"

"Yes, that is what you are here for." He looked down at the paper as he turned it over and then turned it so it faced them. At the top was a large red circle. Inside was a single number.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Weiss could feel her pulse quiver as the number burned into her retinas. Was it one mark? One percent? Or maybe some other system, but there was no way it could be good. She just knew that she wouldn't dare to hope for a perfect outcome.

"Um… one?" Ruby asked cautiously, also thinking of its meaning.

"Exactly!" Port exclaimed. "I've noticed both of your absences in my class this past month. Therefore I know that you weren't in class when I explained how this assignment would be marked."

"We're sorry professor. We'll be here from now on, it was just some personal stuff we needed to resolve." Ruby replied for Weiss. "Would you mind telling us?"

"Of course, dear girl." Port moved to the large board behind him and pulled a stick of chalk from the ledge before starting to write. "Since this is your first year, I decided I would provide some room for error and the marks would reflect that."

He quickly drew the breakdown of the presentation on one side of the board and then the paper on the other. He drew one long line down the middle of the two descriptions and turned back to the girls.

"Your marks will either come from the presentation, or from the paper." He stated. "And the one that would receive the lower mark will provide a multiplier based on whether or not it was attempted. In other words, you presented an excellent project, and you attempted the accompanying paper, so you receive full marks!"

"What?" Weiss stood stunned, looking at the professor like he was insane. Ruby knew how she felt but she'd done things like this before where the teacher would allow you to choose what you focused on. Thinking about it now, it was fairly simple to see that the project was almost certainly going to be marked in that manner, but since they hadn't attended class they hadn't known.

"Thanks professor." Ruby said with a smile, starting to pull Weiss towards the door. "And I'm guessing that the one meant…"

"Top of the class. I can honestly say that almost nobody in their first year will be able to get a perfect score on their paper, and you two did the most thorough job of presenting in an organized manner during your presentation." Port nodded. "Enjoy your weekend celebrations, and I expect to see you in class come Monday."

"We wouldn't miss it sir." Ruby smiled as she pulled a still shocked Weiss from the room.

The two walked down the hall, their hands entwined, the rings on their fingers only too noticeable in the late afternoon light. Once they cleared the crowds that were all going to some other part of the school, Ruby turned and pinned Weiss to the wall.

"Rub-mmpf" Weiss was cut off as her lips were caught by Ruby's and then released.

"Thanks Weiss." Ruby's silver eyes reflected the sun beautifully as she looked into Weiss's eyes, a smile tugging at her lips.

"I don't believe we did all that for nothing…" Weiss sighed. "And it's lucky he marked it the way he did. With the amount of corrections he made, we would have been lucky to have gotten a D otherwise."

"Yeah… but still…" Ruby leaned in closer, her lips brushing past Weiss's. "It's the weekend, so maybe I can show you how thankful I am."

"That sounds nice." Weiss closed the gap and kissed Ruby passionately, not caring if anyone would see them. It was funny how an entire month of fighting for yourself and someone dear could help put everything into perspective. Not to mention that it made it abundantly clear to any onlookers, that both of them were taken.

Weiss broke the kiss as she felt something smooth and cold wrap around her neck. Ruby was laughing silently as she looked deep into Weiss's eyes, the look so loving and full of want that Weiss felt her pulse start racing just from the look. Ruby breathed slowly and leaned in to take her lips once more and Weiss remained still, enjoying the moment until Ruby once again pulled away.

"You said if we pulled this off you'd show me how much you love me." Ruby breathed intoxicatingly close to her wife's lips.

"Y-yeah…" Weiss knew she'd said that, but suddenly it meant something completely different than what she'd originally meant. Yet she was definitely not against the change in definition.

"So show me." Ruby dared, tugging gently at the collar she'd slipped around Weiss's neck. Weiss didn't know how long Ruby had been planning this but it seemed almost exciting. She shivered and just barely nodded as Ruby's hand gently traced the edge of the leather.

"Hey you two! I thought you'd be back at the dorm by now!" Yang called as she came around the corner. All three of the girls froze looking at each other as Yang took in the blushing faces of the newlyweds and the bright ruby that decorated an equally red leather strap that was hugging Weiss's neck. "Holy shit!"

Yang started laughing as Ruby moved as if to shield Weiss.

"Ruby." Weiss waited for Ruby to turn her head slightly in acknowledgment of her whisper. "Vale. Now."

"Uh…" Ruby hummed as she thought out a strategy as Yang started approaching them again, still laughing. "SorryWeGottaGoSeeYouMonday!"

With that jumble of words, Ruby scooped Weiss up into her arms and sprinted away, using her semblance and leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. Even as they left, the two could hear Yang burst out into another gale of laughter which they knew would have no short lifespan. But the thoughts of their teammate didn't last long once they set foot outside into the cold air of the winter afternoon.

"Ruby, stop." Weiss ordered and Ruby let her down as they walked the shoveled paths. "I know it just looks like a fashion accessory, but if you're going to make me wear this, you definitely have to wear yours."

"I don't have it, sorry." Ruby giggled in triumph.

"Hmm… Weiss pushed her hand into Ruby's bag and pulled out the white strap. "I see."

"Wha- How'd you know?" Ruby gaped as she slowly backed away from her wife who followed with slightly larger steps.

"I saw you move it when you were getting a book out this morning." Weiss grinned. "Now unless you want a punishment later, I suggest you stop backing away."

Ruby froze for a second and Weiss had wrapped the cool leather around her throat, pulling the clasp tight at the back. She left just enough room to hook her finger in and pull Ruby's head forward into her waiting lips. Weiss broke the kiss and released Ruby as she turned to continue walking.

"Now hurry up. This weekend won't last forever."

Ruby smiled at the slight pout under the full blush that adorned Weiss's face. If every day made her this happy, every little action that Weiss did made her feel this important and special, then she knew she'd made the right choice in trying to become the heiress's friend. Everyone had called Weiss an ice queen, but Ruby had known that it depended on how you looked at her. From one angle she could be cold and calculating, but from Ruby's perspective she saw only loving and caring and so much more that it had driven her crazy. In fact, it had done so numerous times on the last true day of their honeymoon, and Ruby liked to think she'd done the same to her wife.

"What are you thinking about dolt?" Weiss asked, flicking Ruby in the forehead.

"Ahh! Abuse!" Ruby faked a stumble, trying to cover her lapse into her thoughts.

"If you want to play it that way, there will be much worse waiting." Weiss threatened.

"No! I… uh…" Ruby panicked, looking back and forth for a moment before stealing a quick peck from Weiss's lips. "I mean… you look cute with that collar."

Weiss's blush deepened, if that were even possible, and she looked down at her hands. "Ruby… lets just go."

"Okay." Ruby took Weiss's hand and led them to the where an airship would be headed to Vale within the next few minutes. "I love you."

"Dolt." Weiss mumbled as she leaned into Ruby's shoulder as they walked. "Love you too."

* * *

**AN:**

**Well, that's a wrap everyone! Thank you to everyone who Followed or Favorited! Thank you to everyone who dropped me a review! And thank you as always to the late Monty Oum for creating RWBY!**

**I want to say that this has been a fantastic experience, but unfortunately this story is at it's end. While I am satisfied with its conclusion, I cant help but feel that I'm losing this project that I've worked on for more than one and a half years. But now that it's finished, I can turn my attention elsewhere and to other projects I've been neglecting.**

**Thank you again for all your support, and I hope you've enjoyed this story.**

**Until next time,**

**Spat915**


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